Cato Event Podcast

Is higher education inherently broken, or do we just need tweaks like simplifying financial aid applications? Maybe the problem is too much profit-seeking ... or not enough. Or maybe the incentives for everyone are just wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There seems to be widespread agreement that America’s Ivory Tower has many cracks, rests on a leaning foundation, and can be prohibitively expensive. But there is little consensus when it comes to identifying the culprits behind the decay. Some say it’s tenure, others say it’s flawed accreditation. Some point the finger at for-profit schools, others at state disinvestment … and the list goes on. Of course, not everyone can be right. Or can they? In this special conference, which uses as its stepping-off point the new Cato volume Unprofitable Schooling: Examining Causes of, and Fixes for, America’s Broken Ivory Tower, top experts will scrutinize many of the most popular suspects for higher ed’s decline and will debate potential policy changes to which their conclusions point. The discussion will be especially timely as the 116th Congress begins its work, including tackling the overdue reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are myriad perceived problems with American higher education, from potentially bloated faculty, administration, or both, to unbridled greed. How many problems truly infest the ivory tower? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To fix the ivory tower, we need to know something about how it was constructed, why, and its record of performance. Indeed, we need to ask if it has ever worked as well as we would like. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12:30 – 2:00PM Luncheon Address — None of My Business: P. J. Explains Money, Banking, Debt, Equity, Assets, Liabilities, and Why He’s Not Rich and Neither Are You P. J. O’Rourke, H. L. Mencken Research Fellow, Cato Institute For Cato Institute Policy Perspectives 2019 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10:15 – 10:45AM Registration 10:45 – 11:00AM Welcoming Remarks Peter Goettler, President and CEO, Cato Institute 11:00 – 11:40AM Keynote Address — American Life in Columns Michael Smerconish, Radio and Television Host, Newspaper Columnist, and Best-Selling Author 11:40AM – 12:10PM The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor Michael Tanner, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute For Cato Institute Policy Perspectives 2019 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s highly regulated financial system, launching new products and financial services businesses can be extremely challenging. To facilitate innovation and entry, some jurisdictions have created regulatory sandboxes — supervised halfway houses in which firms can test new products without being subject to the full burden of compliance with existing rules.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced such a program for U.S. consumer finance firms. The sandbox promises to increase innovation and lower costs for financial services used particularly by lower-income Americans. Yet there are concerns, on one hand, that sandboxes reduce consumer protection and, on the other hand, that they do not go far enough in addressing the challenge of excessive regulation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mercatus Center’s David Beckworth comes to Cato for a live recording of his popular Macro Musings podcast, interviewing George Selgin about his new book Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession. Floored! is the first comprehensive account of the Federal Reserve’s new post-crisis “floor” monetary policy operating system. Marking his fourth Macro Musings episode, Selgin will share his three-year research journey into this new experimental system, how the Fed stumbled into it, and its consequences for the economy — including how it could turn the Fed into a Trojan piggybank of fiscal profligacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trump administration has emphasized the reemergence of great power competition as the organizing principle for U.S. foreign policy. What scholarship should inform its understanding of how to compete with China and Russia? And how will international relations change in an era when new actors are challenging the status quo?The history of great power politics can provide some clues. Over time, states have risen above rivals and fallen to new challengers—but the transitions have not always been disastrous, nor even violent. Some states have successfully managed their decline, while others have resorted to aggressive posturing, or even war, to try to maintain their status at all costs.Join us as four distinguished scholars discuss their recent work on the history and future of great power relations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legendary spymaster James Jesus Angleton called the world of intelligence a “wilderness of mirrors,” and rarely has that description seemed as apt as it does in 2018. President Donald Trump rails against a “deep state” embedded within the very intelligence agencies over which he now presides—even as former intelligence leaders claim that it’s Trump who has sought to politicize intelligence. In U.S. v. Carpenter, the Supreme Court handed down a seminal Fourth Amendment ruling that could dramatically reshape electronic privacy law—but what it will mean in practice remains radically uncertain. Meanwhile, technology companies ranging from social media platforms to manufacturers of the connected devices that constitute the “Internet of Things” have struggled with how to balance users’ privacy against their own business interests and the surveillance demands of governments around the world.Join the Cato Institute—and an array of top experts, technologists, and policymakers—for a probing examination of these issues and many more as we seek to navigate the wilderness. For: 2018 Cato Institute Surveillance Conference Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legendary spymaster James Jesus Angleton called the world of intelligence a “wilderness of mirrors,” and rarely has that description seemed as apt as it does in 2018. President Donald Trump rails against a “deep state” embedded within the very intelligence agencies over which he now presides—even as former intelligence leaders claim that it’s Trump who has sought to politicize intelligence. In U.S. v. Carpenter, the Supreme Court handed down a seminal Fourth Amendment ruling that could dramatically reshape electronic privacy law—but what it will mean in practice remains radically uncertain. Meanwhile, technology companies ranging from social media platforms to manufacturers of the connected devices that constitute the “Internet of Things” have struggled with how to balance users’ privacy against their own business interests and the surveillance demands of governments around the world.Join the Cato Institute—and an array of top experts, technologists, and policymakers—for a probing examination of these issues and many more as we seek to navigate the wilderness. For: 2018 Cato Institute Surveillance Conference Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legendary spymaster James Jesus Angleton called the world of intelligence a “wilderness of mirrors,” and rarely has that description seemed as apt as it does in 2018. President Donald Trump rails against a “deep state” embedded within the very intelligence agencies over which he now presides—even as former intelligence leaders claim that it’s Trump who has sought to politicize intelligence. In U.S. v. Carpenter, the Supreme Court handed down a seminal Fourth Amendment ruling that could dramatically reshape electronic privacy law—but what it will mean in practice remains radically uncertain. Meanwhile, technology companies ranging from social media platforms to manufacturers of the connected devices that constitute the “Internet of Things” have struggled with how to balance users’ privacy against their own business interests and the surveillance demands of governments around the world.Join the Cato Institute—and an array of top experts, technologists, and policymakers—for a probing examination of these issues and many more as we seek to navigate the wilderness. For: 2018 Cato Institute Surveillance Conference Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legendary spymaster James Jesus Angleton called the world of intelligence a “wilderness of mirrors,” and rarely has that description seemed as apt as it does in 2018. President Donald Trump rails against a “deep state” embedded within the very intelligence agencies over which he now presides—even as former intelligence leaders claim that it’s Trump who has sought to politicize intelligence. In U.S. v. Carpenter, the Supreme Court handed down a seminal Fourth Amendment ruling that could dramatically reshape electronic privacy law—but what it will mean in practice remains radically uncertain. Meanwhile, technology companies ranging from social media platforms to manufacturers of the connected devices that constitute the “Internet of Things” have struggled with how to balance users’ privacy against their own business interests and the surveillance demands of governments around the world.Join the Cato Institute—and an array of top experts, technologists, and policymakers—for a probing examination of these issues and many more as we seek to navigate the wilderness. For: 2018 Cato Institute Surveillance Conference Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legendary spymaster James Jesus Angleton called the world of intelligence a “wilderness of mirrors,” and rarely has that description seemed as apt as it does in 2018. President Donald Trump rails against a “deep state” embedded within the very intelligence agencies over which he now presides—even as former intelligence leaders claim that it’s Trump who has sought to politicize intelligence. In U.S. v. Carpenter, the Supreme Court handed down a seminal Fourth Amendment ruling that could dramatically reshape electronic privacy law—but what it will mean in practice remains radically uncertain. Meanwhile, technology companies ranging from social media platforms to manufacturers of the connected devices that constitute the “Internet of Things” have struggled with how to balance users’ privacy against their own business interests and the surveillance demands of governments around the world.Join the Cato Institute—and an array of top experts, technologists, and policymakers—for a probing examination of these issues and many more as we seek to navigate the wilderness. For: 2018 Cato Institute Surveillance Conference Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Too much of contemporary anti-poverty policy focuses on making poverty less miserable, and not enough on helping people get out of poverty.In his new book, The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor (release date: December 7), Cato senior fellow Michael Tanner looks at the reasons for poverty in America and issues a bold challenge to the conventional wisdom of both liberals and conservatives.According to Tanner, conservative critiques of a “culture of poverty” fail to account for the structural circumstances in which the poor live — especially racism, gender discrimination, and economic dislocation — while liberal calls for fighting poverty through redistribution or new government programs simply entrench those problems.The Inclusive Economy calls for government to stop doing things that push people into poverty, and it provides a detailed road map to a new anti-poverty policy that includes criminal justice reform, greater educational freedom, housing deregulation, banking reform, and both increased and more inclusive economic growthTweet your questions with #CatoConnects, and join a live discussion of the structural forces keeping poor people poor and how we can instead empower the poor and allow them to take control of their own lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After years of quiet U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign in Yemen, top officials in the Trump administration are finally talking about ending the conflict. But a lasting resolution to the war remains a distant prospect, and the Yemeni people continue to suffer under bombardment and blockade in one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory.What are the facts in Yemen? Why has the United States abetted the Saudi war in Yemen for almost four years? And what is the role of Congress in checking the authority of the executive to get involved in distant conflicts? Please join us for a discussion of these topics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For nearly 100 years the Jones Act has restricted the transportation of cargo between two points in the United States to ships that are U.S.-built, crewed, owned, and flagged. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime industry and provide a ready supply of ships and mariners in times of conflict, the act has instead presided over a steady deterioration in the number of ships, sailors to crew them, and shipyards to build them. While failing to provide its promised benefits, the law has imposed a huge economic burden that manifests itself in various ways, ranging from higher transportation costs to increased traffic and pollution. This full-day conference examines these costs in greater detail, discusses the validity of the Jones Act's national security argument, and evaluates options for reform.Each conference participant has contributed an essay to discuss various aspects of the Jones Act. These essays will be available here to read and share.Stay up to date about the Jones Act:Cato's Project on Jones Act ReformSubscribe to the Jones Act GazetteFor: The Jones Act: Charting a New Course after a Century of Failure Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For nearly 100 years the Jones Act has restricted the transportation of cargo between two points in the United States to ships that are U.S.-built, crewed, owned, and flagged. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime industry and provide a ready supply of ships and mariners in times of conflict, the act has instead presided over a steady deterioration in the number of ships, sailors to crew them, and shipyards to build them. While failing to provide its promised benefits, the law has imposed a huge economic burden that manifests itself in various ways, ranging from higher transportation costs to increased traffic and pollution. This full-day conference examines these costs in greater detail, discusses the validity of the Jones Act's national security argument, and evaluates options for reform.Each conference participant has contributed an essay to discuss various aspects of the Jones Act. These essays will be available here to read and share.Stay up to date about the Jones Act:Cato's Project on Jones Act ReformSubscribe to the Jones Act GazetteFor: The Jones Act: Charting a New Course after a Century of Failure Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For nearly 100 years the Jones Act has restricted the transportation of cargo between two points in the United States to ships that are U.S.-built, crewed, owned, and flagged. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime industry and provide a ready supply of ships and mariners in times of conflict, the act has instead presided over a steady deterioration in the number of ships, sailors to crew them, and shipyards to build them. While failing to provide its promised benefits, the law has imposed a huge economic burden that manifests itself in various ways, ranging from higher transportation costs to increased traffic and pollution. This full-day conference examines these costs in greater detail, discusses the validity of the Jones Act's national security argument, and evaluates options for reform.Each conference participant has contributed an essay to discuss various aspects of the Jones Act. These essays will be available here to read and share.Stay up to date about the Jones Act:Cato's Project on Jones Act ReformSubscribe to the Jones Act GazetteFor: The Jones Act: Charting a New Course after a Century of Failure Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For nearly 100 years the Jones Act has restricted the transportation of cargo between two points in the United States to ships that are U.S.-built, crewed, owned, and flagged. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime industry and provide a ready supply of ships and mariners in times of conflict, the act has instead presided over a steady deterioration in the number of ships, sailors to crew them, and shipyards to build them. While failing to provide its promised benefits, the law has imposed a huge economic burden that manifests itself in various ways, ranging from higher transportation costs to increased traffic and pollution. This full-day conference examines these costs in greater detail, discusses the validity of the Jones Act's national security argument, and evaluates options for reform.Each conference participant has contributed an essay to discuss various aspects of the Jones Act. These essays will be available here to read and share.Stay up to date about the Jones Act:Cato's Project on Jones Act ReformSubscribe to the Jones Act GazetteFor: The Jones Act: Charting a New Course after a Century of Failure Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For nearly 100 years the Jones Act has restricted the transportation of cargo between two points in the United States to ships that are U.S.-built, crewed, owned, and flagged. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime industry and provide a ready supply of ships and mariners in times of conflict, the act has instead presided over a steady deterioration in the number of ships, sailors to crew them, and shipyards to build them. While failing to provide its promised benefits, the law has imposed a huge economic burden that manifests itself in various ways, ranging from higher transportation costs to increased traffic and pollution. This full-day conference examines these costs in greater detail, discusses the validity of the Jones Act's national security argument, and evaluates options for reform.Each conference participant has contributed an essay to discuss various aspects of the Jones Act. These essays will be available here to read and share.Stay up to date about the Jones Act:Cato's Project on Jones Act ReformSubscribe to the Jones Act GazetteFor: The Jones Act: Charting a New Course after a Century of Failure Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10:50 – 11:00AMWelcoming Remarks Peter Goettler, President and CEO, Cato Institute11:00 – 11:30AMIs Islam Compatible with Freedom?Mustafa Akyol, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute Cato Institute Policy Perspectives 2018 - Chicago Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim people who primarily live in Xinjiang, a northwestern region in China, have long suffered the repressive regime of the Chinese Communist Party. Since early 2017, however, a new wave of repression began, as Chinese authorities initiated a comprehensive “reeducation” program involving state propaganda, mass surveillance, and the internment of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in concentration camps. Using the handful of violent extremists among Uyghurs as a pretext, the Beijing government, as observed by international media and human rights organizations, has embarked on a crusade to erase the identity, religion, culture, and language of a minority.This story is a major human rights crisis in itself, yet it also signals a broader threat to freedom in other parts of the world. In Xinjiang, Chinese authorities are testing their new products for social control, such as drones disguised as birds to surveil citizens and state-issued tracking devices on human bodies. This cutting-edge totalitarianism can easily be exported to other regimes around the world that are eager to spy on their citizens and persecute their dissidents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis, we are again facing the possibility of economic turmoil as the Fed and other central banks exit their unconventional monetary policies. Although central banks will move gradually, unforeseen circumstances could trigger a flight to safety and a collapse of asset prices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis, we are again facing the possibility of economic turmoil as the Fed and other central banks exit their unconventional monetary policies. Although central banks will move gradually, unforeseen circumstances could trigger a flight to safety and a collapse of asset prices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis, we are again facing the possibility of economic turmoil as the Fed and other central banks exit their unconventional monetary policies. Although central banks will move gradually, unforeseen circumstances could trigger a flight to safety and a collapse of asset prices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis, we are again facing the possibility of economic turmoil as the Fed and other central banks exit their unconventional monetary policies. Although central banks will move gradually, unforeseen circumstances could trigger a flight to safety and a collapse of asset prices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis, we are again facing the possibility of economic turmoil as the Fed and other central banks exit their unconventional monetary policies. Although central banks will move gradually, unforeseen circumstances could trigger a flight to safety and a collapse of asset prices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis, we are again facing the possibility of economic turmoil as the Fed and other central banks exit their unconventional monetary policies. Although central banks will move gradually, unforeseen circumstances could trigger a flight to safety and a collapse of asset prices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Healer in chief,” national redeemer, father figure, Leader of the Free World — the modern president is required to be all those things and more. It’s a radical — and dangerous — departure from the Founding Fathers’ vision of a chief magistrate with limited powers, charged with faithfully executing the laws. The demands we’ve placed on the office have transformed it into a constitutional monstrosity with powers too vast to entrust to any single, fallible human being.How did we get here? Where does Donald Trump fit into the transformation of the presidency? Can we ever restore the Framers’ modest conception of the office and again limit its powers? A new documentary from We the Internet TV provides provocative answers to these questions.Join us for the premiere screening of The Rise of Trump: Why a Reality Show President Was Inevitable (approximately 15 minutes), followed by a discussion with director Rob Montz and Cato vice president Gene Healy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cato University: College of EconomicsCato University’s College of Economics is based on the conviction that economics is a way of thinking, a tool for decision-making, and a basis for action. It’s the necessary foundation for understanding government, business, and society. Discussions from top economics scholars are designed to solidify your expertise on basic economic principles, and then help you apply those tools to today’s most pressing issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cato University: College of EconomicsCato University’s College of Economics is based on the conviction that economics is a way of thinking, a tool for decision-making, and a basis for action. It’s the necessary foundation for understanding government, business, and society. Discussions from top economics scholars are designed to solidify your expertise on basic economic principles, and then help you apply those tools to today’s most pressing issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cato University: College of EconomicsCato University’s College of Economics is based on the conviction that economics is a way of thinking, a tool for decision-making, and a basis for action. It’s the necessary foundation for understanding government, business, and society. Discussions from top economics scholars are designed to solidify your expertise on basic economic principles, and then help you apply those tools to today’s most pressing issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cato University: College of EconomicsCato University’s College of Economics is based on the conviction that economics is a way of thinking, a tool for decision-making, and a basis for action. It’s the necessary foundation for understanding government, business, and society. Discussions from top economics scholars are designed to solidify your expertise on basic economic principles, and then help you apply those tools to today’s most pressing issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cato University: College of EconomicsCato University’s College of Economics is based on the conviction that economics is a way of thinking, a tool for decision-making, and a basis for action. It’s the necessary foundation for understanding government, business, and society. Discussions from top economics scholars are designed to solidify your expertise on basic economic principles, and then help you apply those tools to today’s most pressing issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cato University: College of EconomicsCato University’s College of Economics is based on the conviction that economics is a way of thinking, a tool for decision-making, and a basis for action. It’s the necessary foundation for understanding government, business, and society. Discussions from top economics scholars are designed to solidify your expertise on basic economic principles, and then help you apply those tools to today’s most pressing issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cato University: College of EconomicsCato University’s College of Economics is based on the conviction that economics is a way of thinking, a tool for decision-making, and a basis for action. It’s the necessary foundation for understanding government, business, and society. Discussions from top economics scholars are designed to solidify your expertise on basic economic principles, and then help you apply those tools to today’s most pressing issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Cato University: College of EconomicsCato University’s College of Economics is based on the conviction that economics is a way of thinking, a tool for decision-making, and a basis for action. It’s the necessary foundation for understanding government, business, and society. Discussions from top economics scholars are designed to solidify your expertise on basic economic principles, and then help you apply those tools to today’s most pressing issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has observed that “criminal justice today is for the most part a system of pleas, not a system of trials.”Although nowhere mentioned in the text of the Constitution, plea bargaining has become the default mechanism for resolving criminal charges in the United States. Indeed, some 95 percent of criminal convictions today are obtained through plea bargains, which raises a number of serious concerns, including why so few people choose to exercise their hallowed and hard-won right to a jury trial. When one considers the many tools available to prosecutors to encourage defendants to accept plea offers, together with the incentive to resolve as many cases as efficiently as possible, one cannot help but ask how many plea agreements are truly voluntary and how many are the result of irresistible coercion. Are there constitutional or ethical limits on coercive plea bargaining, and if so, are they being properly enforced? And what should we make of an institution that has practically eliminated the criminal jury trial and with it the Framers' painstaking efforts to ensure citizen participation in the administration of justice?We will discuss these and other important questions raised by the evolution of plea bargaining within our justice system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the end of the Cold War, the United States was confident that it stood on the precipice of a new era of peace and prosperity as the world’s sole superpower. U.S. leaders adopted a strategy of primacy, aimed at discouraging others from challenging American power, and they sought to spread democracy and liberal economics within an American sphere of influence that encompassed most of the world. Today, relations with Russia and China have deteriorated, nationalist movements are on the rise, and the European Union seems unsteady at best.In his new book, The Hell of Good Intentions, Stephen Walt traces many of these problems to the flaws inherent in primacy. U.S. power has allowed policymakers to pursue ambitious foreign policy goals, even when those goals are unnecessary or doomed to fail. And yet, despite many setbacks, an entrenched foreign policy elite retains its faith in liberal hegemony. Join us at noon on Wednesday, October 17, as Walt explores these ideas and outlines the case for a fresh, new approach to American foreign policy based on realism and restraint. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paid family leave has become an issue of national significance, and some policymakers think the federal policy status quo is insufficient. As a result, in 2017 congressional Democrats proposed funding leave through payroll taxes on businesses and workers, and the Trump administration suggested providing paid parental leave through state unemployment insurance. In 2018, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) proposed legislation allowing workers to dip into Social Security retirement benefits to cover paid leave.Please join us for a conversation about paid family leave and current federal proposals for paid leave. Emily Ekins, director of polling at Cato Institute, will provide a first look at new public opinion polling on paid leave. Vanessa Brown Calder, Veronique de Rugy, and Rachel Greszler will discuss their research on paid family leave, with a focus on current federal proposals like the FAMILY Act (the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act) and Social Security–paid family leave. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Like many Americans, Randal O’Toole loves passenger trains, yet he acknowledges that intercity passenger trains and — outside of the New York region — urban rail transit play little role in American life today. The replacement of passenger trains with cars, buses, and airplanes is similar to many other recent technological replacements: word processors replacing typewriters, calculators replacing slide rules, telephones replacing telegraphs, and cell phones replacing land lines. However, only for passenger trains has the government spent billions of dollars a year attempting to turn back the clock and slow that replacement. O’Toole’s book Romance of the Rails asks why this is so and whether passenger rail has a significant role to play in the future. Art Guzzetti, an advocate for urban rail transit; Jim Mathews, an advocate for intercity passenger trains; and Marc Scribner, an advocate for free-market transportation, will offer their comments on the book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Something has been going wrong on many college campuses in the past few years. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. How did this happen?First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: (1) what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker, (2) always trust your feelings, and (3) life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths are incompatible with basic psychological principles as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures. They interfere with healthy development. Anyone who embraces these untruths—and the resulting culture of “safetyism”—is less likely to become an autonomous adult able to prosper in a free society.Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to produce these untruths. They place the conflicts on campus in the context of America’s rapidly rising political polarization, including a rise in hate crimes and off-campus provocation. They explore changes in childhood, including the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the past decade.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transit ridership is declining nationwide despite billions of dollars in federal subsidies, observes Randal O’Toole, one of the nation’s leading critics of the transit industry. He argues that the federal government should stop subsidizing a dying industry. Jarrett Walker — one of the most innovative thinkers in the transit community — disagrees, arguing that public transit has a vital role to play in urban transportation and urban growth. Join us to hear these two experts debate the appropriate role of federal funding in urban transportation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The internet and social media were supposed to radically democratize news and information — yet many observers now worry that they are undermining the preconditions for healthy democracies. Misinformation peddled by conspiracy theorists, unscrupulous clickbaiters, and even intelligence agencies spreads around the globe at the speed of light, while in the United States, citizens increasingly retreat into distinct media ecosystems so divergent as to be mutually unrecognizable. Can liberal democracy function in a world in which voters no longer inhabit the same universe of facts?We’ll take up these questions with renowned scholar Yochai Benkler, coauthor of the important new book-length study Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics. We’ll take a close look at the dynamics of how propaganda, misinformation, and “fake news” propagate across modern information networks. Rebecca MacKinnon, author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, and Cato senior fellow Julian Sanchez provide commentary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.