Staff > Radley Balko > Hit & Run Posts
Radley Balko 
Senior Editor
Radley Balko is a senior editor at Reason magazine and Reason.com.
Previously, Balko was a policy analyst for the Cato Institute specializing in civil liberties issues, where he published a paper on alcohol policy and a groundbreaking study on paramilitary police raids.
He is a columnist for FoxNews.com and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Playboy, Time, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Forbes, National Post, Worth and numerous other publications. Balko has also appeared on the BBC, CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and NPR.
Balko's work on paramilitary raids and the overuse of SWAT teams was featured by John Tierney in The New York Times, has been praised by outlets ranging from Human Events to the Daily Kos, and was cited by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's dissent in the case Hudson v. Michigan.
Balko is also credited with bringing national attention to the case of Cory Maye, a black man who prior to Balko's work was on death row in Mississippi for shooting and killing a white police officer during a raid on Maye's home. Balko's Reason feature on Maye was also cited in an opinion by the Mississippi State Supreme Court. National Journal also profiled Balko's coverage of the case.
Balko publishes the personal blog, TheAgitator.com. He graduated from Indiana University in 1997 with a degree in journalism and political science.
Contributions | Hit & Run Posts
- Bill Me, Baby, Radley Balko, September 5, 2008, 2:53pm
- Another Isolated Incident, Radley Balko, September 5, 2008, 12:59pm
- Internal Investigation: Slaughter of Mayor's Dogs During Botched Drug Raid Justified, Radley Balko, September 5, 2008, 12:48pm
- Cato to Host Forum on No-Knock Raids With reason's Radley Balko; Berwyn Heights, Maryland Mayor Cheye Calvo, and LEAP co-founder Peter Christ, Radley Balko, September 4, 2008, 12:01pm
- Palin +1, Radley Balko, September 4, 2008, 9:51am
- [Insert Name Here], Radley Balko, September 3, 2008, 10:24pm
- "We Did Well!", Radley Balko, September 3, 2008, 9:39pm
- With "Reformers" Like This, Who Needs the Status Quo?, Radley Balko, September 3, 2008, 3:19pm
- Prosecutor in Ryan Frederick Case Wants to Move the Trial, Radley Balko, September 3, 2008, 10:11am
- Oops, Radley Balko, September 3, 2008, 9:53am
- The Road to Damascus, Radley Balko, September 2, 2008, 4:00pm
- Obama Gets Separation: Convention Bounce or Palin Thud?, Radley Balko, September 2, 2008, 12:29pm
- Sheriff Lott's New Toy, Radley Balko, September 1, 2008, 1:12pm
- Palin, Radley Balko, August 30, 2008, 1:03pm
- Did Bob Barr Already Win Texas?, Radley Balko, August 29, 2008, 3:56pm
- Fitz for VP!, Radley Balko, August 29, 2008, 9:17am
- Don Young Inches Ahead, With a Boost From....Ron Paul?, Radley Balko, August 27, 2008, 12:13pm
- Ladies' Home Journal's Red Light Problem, Radley Balko, August 12, 2008, 6:29pm
- Colbert on Medical Marijuana, Radley Balko, August 12, 2008, 1:03pm
- The First Download Is Always Free, Radley Balko, August 12, 2008, 9:54am
- Cheye Calvo Gets It, Radley Balko, August 10, 2008, 2:34pm
- Puppycide in Prince George's County, Radley Balko, August 10, 2008, 10:44am
- Berwyn Heights Drug Raid: The Police Keep Digging, Radley Balko, August 8, 2008, 11:17am
- Developments in the Rachel Hoffman Case, Radley Balko, August 7, 2008, 10:09pm
- Lying for Jesus, Radley Balko, August 7, 2008, 7:05pm
- Mississippi CYA, Radley Balko, August 6, 2008, 9:19am
- Berwyn Heights, MD Drug Raid Update: Cops Didn't Have a No-Knock Warrant, Radley Balko, August 6, 2008, 8:29am
- Mississippi Official Fires Dr. Hayne, Then Praises Him, Radley Balko, August 5, 2008, 5:24pm
- Lima, Ohio SWAT Officer Acquitted in the Killing of Tarika Wilson, Radley Balko, August 5, 2008, 10:23am
- Dr. Steven Hayne Is Done, Radley Balko, August 4, 2008, 8:51pm
- Doubts About Dog-Slaughtering Drug Raid, Radley Balko, August 4, 2008, 2:50pm
- The "Surge" Cures All, Radley Balko, August 1, 2008, 3:13pm
- Charlie Lynch Update, Radley Balko, July 31, 2008, 2:12pm
- Mayor's Dogs Killed in Drug Raid, Radley Balko, July 31, 2008, 9:21am
- Botched Raid of Innocent Family Earns Cops Merit Badges, Radley Balko, July 30, 2008, 8:09am
- 20/20 Looks at the Rachel Hoffman Case, Radley Balko, July 28, 2008, 11:42pm
- Another Exoneration, Radley Balko, July 25, 2008, 3:13pm
- The Sun-Times Embraces the Nanny State, Radley Balko, July 25, 2008, 7:43am
- This Week in Innocence, Radley Balko, July 24, 2008, 10:56am
- L.A. Says "No" to Cheap Food for Poor People, Radley Balko, July 24, 2008, 8:40am
- Mandatory Volunteerism, Radley Balko, July 23, 2008, 11:24am
- McCain and Iraq, Radley Balko, July 23, 2008, 10:33am
- Making Up Evidence an "Honest Mistake", Radley Balko, July 21, 2008, 2:57pm
- St. Louis Cops Turn Forfeiture Policy Into Free Car Rental Service, Radley Balko, July 21, 2008, 11:03am
- Two More Isolated Incidents, Radley Balko, July 18, 2008, 1:28pm
- Charlie Lynch Trial Begins Tuesday, Radley Balko, July 18, 2008, 12:15pm
- Our Foolish Security Theater, Radley Balko, July 18, 2008, 7:11am
- Police Militarization? What Police Militarization?, Radley Balko, July 17, 2008, 8:32pm
- "I've never seen a comic book with the phrase 'anal sodomy' in it before.", Radley Balko, July 17, 2008, 12:08pm
- San Francisco May Damn-Near Outlaw Smoking, Radley Balko, July 16, 2008, 3:51pm