Cato Podcast

The 1619 Project aims to deepen our understand of American slavery, while also attempting to reframe current debate about it. Despite its laudable goal to elucidate the complexities of that institution, it fails on a number of fronts according to Phil Magness, author of The 1619 Project: A Critique. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Concerns from Senator Elizabeth Warren and others about the federal government earning a profit from student lending are substantially misguided. Neal McCluskey explains why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan Yonk of the American Institute for Economic Research details some of the perverse and costly incentives built into our systems of zoning land for various uses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lou Perez is a comedian and author of the new book, That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: On the Death and Rebirth of Comedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recent FBI search of former President Trump's home revealed many boxes containing classified documents that the federal government has been trying to recover for several months. Julian Sanchez and Cato's Patrick Eddington comment on the arguments defending Trump and how these cases typically resolve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lowering costs for critical medical needs like insulin needn't be more mandates piled atop other mandates. Cato's Michael Cannon explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the Securities and Exchange Commission well positioned to tell investors and the world what qualifies as environmentally friendly? Jennifer Schulp comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The incentives are aligned in a bad way for state governments pondering wasteful economic development giveaways. Economist Peter Calcagno explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Would it set a dangerous new norm to charge former presidents for crimes that they actually may have committed? Walter Olson weighs the considerations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economists use a variety of metrics to pinpoint recessions, and those determinations often come after the fact. Social media companies nonetheless try to police language about recession. Ryan Bourne and John Samples discuss the fight over "recession." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The apparent tenets of modern conservative thought have changed in recent years. So what do these "new conservatives" believe about the economy? Scott Lincicome and Norbert Michel comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With millions of available and unfilled jobs, Alex Nowrasteh says job openings in the U.S. does more to explain migrant border crossings than almost any of the smaller details of immigration enforcement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why has the baby formula crisis continued for so long? Cato's Gabriella Beaumont-Smith explains why it's largely domestic regulation and foreign trade rules standing in the way of a functioning market for this critical product. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Institute for Justice attorney Patrick Jaicomo discusses current litigation on qualified immunity and a new tool for discovering if you might be able to overcome the doctrine when your rights are violated by state agents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the "modern budget era," we have federal spending increases baked into the cake. Economist Ed Lopez says that makes massive overspending in good times and bad extremely hard to avoid. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States has many foreign policy commitments that it may not be able to credibly execute in the coming years, most especially in Asia. Eric Gomez discusses what he believes should move U.S. Asia policy to a better state. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karl Marx made serious contributions to the field of economics, but they don't justify his strangely elevated status in American university courses. Phil Magness with the American Institute for Economic Research details how the Soviets and universities rehabilitated the academic reputation of Karl Marx. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some recent cases shed light on the degree to which federal administrative law courts deliver due process to defendants. Will Yeatman explains why it's concerning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is fair trade coffee better? Does it help low-income farmers? Economist Victor Claar makes his case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economist Thomas Hogan discusses the ways in which the Federal Reserve's "dual mandate" has led monetary policy astray. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa Brown Calder details how some straightforward occupational licensing and other labor market reforms can help working families. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What explains the leftward lurch of several Latin American countries? Cato’s Daniel Raisbeck says it’s complicated. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

School systems that are inherently discriminatory may be the next big target for the educational freedom movement. Neal McCluskey comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What exactly is the Federal Reserve planning for any central bank digital currency? So far, responses to the mere suggestion that they'll adopt one are overwhelmingly negative. Nick Anthony explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Price gouging is difficult to identify, and it's difficult to say that people willing to pay more for basic necessities during an emergency should never have that opportunity. Ryan Bourne details Elizabeth Warren's plan to crack down on emergency prices and why it’s mistaken. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did the Supreme Court's latest term stack up for criminal justice? Jay Schweikert and Clark Neily comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much grace are Congress and the President really due as Americans grapple with high inflation? Norbert Michel comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Nowrasteh discusses recent work on the relationship between immigration and rates of unionization in the United States. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even after a Supreme Court decision that appears to protect some physicians, law enforcement will continue to target physicians for improper prescribing. Cato's Jeff Singer argues that police generally have precious little knowledge of how medicine works. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Universities that use "diversity statements" as a screening mechanism for faculty may stand at odds with other commitments to independent thought. Daniel Ortner of the Pacific Legal Foundation discusses the implications for litigation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When governors pick members of licensing boards, the range of nominees is often limited to those with the explicit approval of industry groups. How does that change occupational licensing? Daniel Dew of the Pacific Legal Foundation comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Supreme Court majority found in West Virginia v. EPA that the federal agency lacked authority to make bold assertions of authority based on old vague statutes in areas where Congress clearly chose not to act. Will Yeatman authored Cato's brief in the case. He explains the case's importance to administrative law going forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The California Coastal Commission exercises largely unchecked powers to regulate along much of the west coast. Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Oliver Dunford details his client's long fight with the agency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court has thrown out a New York law that gave itself discretion over whether law-abiding citizens could truly "bear" arms. Trevor Burrus explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exiting the Trans Pacific Partnership was a costly Trump administration error that Americans will have to live with for a long time. Scott Lincicome explains why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are many social and economic ills that could be addressed by dramatically reducing or abolishing zoning. That task is far from simple. M. Nolan Gray's new book is Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court's decision in Carson v. Makin comes at the end of a long line of cases relating to state-level discrimination against schools and other institutions of a religious nature. Neal McCluskey discusses the case and its implications. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wild theories advanced to help Donald Trump hang onto the White House again highlight the need for a bit more clarity in how presidential elections should proceed. Thomas Berry explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Financial privacy in the U.S. is very much on the wane, and inflation only makes the problem worse. Nick Anthony explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Fed's uneven response to inflation highlights some of the central bank's more longstanding problems: the framework adopted in the wake of the financial crisis and its dual mandate to combat both inflation and unemployment. Norbert Michel explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

State and federal laws governing "drug paraphernalia" make it more difficult to set up and operate private programs to get people clean needles and other services. Jeff Singer explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may be the best exemplar of a movement on the right to view corporations as political punching bags when those firms display ideological commitments contrary to Republican preferences. Paul Matzko comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recent revelations about wide-scale FBI misconduct raises the question: What would appropriate accountability look like? Patrick Eddington comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The promising results thus far in the clinical use of psychedelics shouldn't obscure the pitfalls of the regulatory processes. Researcher William Leonard Pickard discusses what the future might hold for psychedelic medicines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What changes when people trying to make effective use of social media are active participants in a war? How advisable is it for large social media platforms to effective pick sides in a conflict? Will Duffield comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Illinois has struggled with its cannabis legalization, and it's not hard to see why. Adam Schuster of the Illinois Policy Institute details the several problems with the state's legalization so far. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A man was on California's sex offender registry, then reformed and the state eventually expunged the case. Then the feds got involved. Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Caleb Kruckenberg details the strange case of John Doe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Robert Anthony Peters tried to screen his short film, Tank Man, at various events and film festivals in the United States, he learned that the chilling effect emanating from Beijing is strong more than three decades after a lone anonymous man stood down tanks in Tiananmen Square. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For its numerous failings, facial recognition technology is proving to have surprisingly invasive capabilities. Matthew Feeney details the latest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amendment One is a ballot initiative in Illinois presented as a workers' rights amendment. Adam Schuster of the Illinois Policy Institute describes the stunning expansion of labor union power that the amendment would foster. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.