This is a new one: President Barack Obama, who has experimented in the past with open forum public question sessions with varied success, is doing an AMA on Reddit, starting right now. Obama confirmed via Twitter he was participating in the AMA, which stands for Ask Me Anything and allows participants to ask whatever they like of the subject. Erik Martin, the general manager of Reddit, didn't have many details on how the POTUS-meets-Reddit gathering came together. Asked how long it had been in the works, he said, "Years in a way, a few days in another." 

If the past is any guide, mixing the POTUS with the Internet is a good way to get a lot of questions about legalizing pot. This time around, amid policy matters such as "why aren't you more actively fighting voter suppression," there's a new left-field request that's been gaining popularity among the DIY beer set: Will you release the recipe for your Honey Ale? It's the voice of the people, Mr. President.

Update (4:58 p.m. EDT): The AMA has been underway for about 40 minutes, and based on the questions the president has chosen to answer, and the answers he's given, he really knows his audience. We're pasting in screenshots (rather than links because the site keeps crashing) of the most Reddity issues, along with the trademark Reddit snark, below. If you want to see all the president's answers, they're available at his user page. Click "context" under any answer to see what it was in reply to.

Internet freedom:

Space exploration:

And of course the beer:

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Adam Martin
Esther Zuckerman