Cato Podcast

President Biden has been surprisingly frank in his belief that the eviction moratorium he's just extended probably won't hold up to legal scrutiny. In fact, it's what courts and his own legal counsel have told him. Walter Olson comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does our own government's propaganda shape our views of efforts to fight wars or to even go to war in the first place? Abigail R. Hall is coauthor of Manufacturing Militarism: U.S. Government Propaganda in the War on Terror. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Regulation has the potential to stop new business before it starts. What if it didn't? Connor Boyack of the Libertas Institute details "the regulatory sandbox" experiment in Utah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Supporters of ranked-choice voting argue that it might reduce partisanship and compel candidates to be less polarizing. New York’s recent confusing experience with ranked-choice voting offers some lessons. How does it work? Is it ready for greater adoption? Adam Kissel of the Cardinal Institute offers his take. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center explains some of the reasons why unionization in Michigan has fallen so dramatically after the Supreme Court's Janus decision in 2018 and what that might mean for unionization elsewhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The processes that have given rise to so much new knowledge show signs of sputtering. Jonathan Rauch, author of The Constitution of Knowledge argues that it's time to restore respect for the "how" of creating new knowledge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When New York decided to stop cracking down on sex workers, it maintained harsh policing of sex workers' customers. Kaytlin Bailey of The Old Pro Project explains why New York should just decriminalize the whole enterprise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Bacchus is author of the new paper, "Trade is Good for Your Health.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Members of Congress continue to fight against large technology platforms, and many hope antitrust claims will give them sway that the First Amendment does not. Elizabeth Nolan Brown of Reason discusses the contours of this new fight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey says the long-term changes to business many expect to come in the wake of the pandemic may be overstated. He discusses how the grocery chain has dealt with the pandemic, and how it's stressed labor markets and supply chains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Residential zoning goes back a full century, and that zoning carried with it the specific intent of racial segregation. Patrick Tuohey of the Better Cities Project details why there should be a public reckoning over the racist legacy of zoning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do FBI agents have too much free time? Cato's Patrick Eddington has discovered that Concerned Women of America have been subjected to FBI inquiries with no claims of criminal activity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A data leak reveals thousands of potential targets of digital surveillance using software from Israeli firm NSO Group. Targets include reporters, activists, and allegedly some leading government officials. Julian Sanchez and Patrick Eddington comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reducing social costs associated with drugs like heroin means seeking solutions beyond mere criminal enforcement.  Safe injection sites are one of these policies. Rhode Island has legalized safe injection sites, but federal hurdles remain. Jeff Singer comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even some graduate degrees from elite institutions deliver few earnings benefits. Why do people get them? And how do government payoff programs make the cost of those degrees appear lower than they really are? Neal McCluskey explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The plea bargain as it's practiced by prosecutors has become a tool that helps pervert justice by penalizing people who seek a jury trial. Somil Trivedi of the American Civil Liberties Union is bringing a suit in Maricopa County, Arizona to challenge how the plea bargain is used. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The President wants to remove some barriers to shipping goods across the U.S. and among nations, but has been recently silent about restrictions that are substantially counterproductive to Americans’ well being. Colin Grabow and Scott Lincicome explain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The planned U.S. departure from Afghanistan is underway, but the Biden Administration seems reluctant to give up the authority to go back in at any moment. John Glaser comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brandon Valeriano argues that defense against cyberattacks means actually doing the work of hardening systems against attacks rather than issuing threats after the fact. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the CCP marks 100 years, the party's human rights abuses, mass slaughter of Chinese people, crackdowns on free speech, and internment camps for minorities won't be front and center. Doug Bandow and Eric Gomez comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At some point, says Gene Healy, Congress will get around to repealing the authorization for the use of military force that has enabled so much American-led global meddling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In AFPF v. Bonta, the Supreme Court made clearer that donors to nonprofits deserve greater privacy protection from state actors. Trevor Burrus examines the case  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A case of university led prior restraint spurred Clarence Thomas to urge his fellow justices to take up a case regarding qualified immunity. Jay Schweikert details the case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Florida appeals court has let cops off the hook after they arrested a woman after she recorded those cops doing their jobs. James Craven details why clarity on this issue is more important than ever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Persistent aerial surveillance may make the jobs of cops easier, but it's no solution if it endangers your rights. Matthew Feeney discusses the case of Balitmore's aerial surveillance program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A patent case decided by the Supreme Court in June holds much larger implications for federal regulators. Thomas Berry comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In restricting transportation of all manner of products, the Jones Act disproportionately harms the poor and raises prices for everyone else. Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Cato's Colin Grabow discuss the new effort to eliminate the law. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of an especially massive outflow of federal money, the accounting for how the money was spent is just beginning. Cato's Will Yeatman says that we shouldn't get our hopes up that the money was spent well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court's ruling against the NCAA regarding benefits paid to student athletes virtually guarantees that there will be future litigation on strikingly similar issues. The NCAA is hoping for time to change its rules. Ilya Shapiro comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Federal sentencing for drug crimes has never made sense, most especially the disparity between cocaine and crack. Kevin Ring of FAMM details how we got here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Federal sentencing for drug crimes has never made sense, most especially the disparity between cocaine and crack. Kevin Ring of FAMM details how we got here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interrogation methods that elicit false confessions speaks to the quality of policing. Marissa Boyers Bluestine of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Law School details the costs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much of the current difficulties faced by employers are driven by extra unemployment benefits? Ryan Bourne explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's more to voting rights in the For the People Act, and the fact that the massive piece of legislation is only partially constitutional just isn't good enough. Walter Olson offers his thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conservatives like to bemoan their treatment at the hands of companies like Facebook and YouTube, but fostering decentralized alternatives is somehow nowhere in their stump speeches. Matthew Feeney comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An obvious way to diffuse fights over schooling is to put parents more directly in charge of the kinds of educations their kids receive. Neal McCluskey comments in the context of the latest fight over public schooling and critical race theory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Campaign finance laws are complicated. They leave well-meaning people on the hook for potential criminal violations. Allen Dickerson of the Federal Election Commission details just one example. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Malice says many of the criticisms of anarchism boil down to a description of the status quo. His new book, The Anarchist Handbook, provides a useful diversity of anarchist views. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government El Salvador has adopted Bitcoin as its currency, but that has problems. What does that mean for average people, and how could they have done it better? George Selgin offers a few ideas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The IRS is a broken agency with a poor record of giving advice and securing data about taxpayers. Joe Biden wants the agency to get bigger and stronger. Andrew Moylan of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a lot that we don't know about which mergers are going to pay off. In fact, there's a lot that companies don't know when faced with that prospect. Sam Bowman of the International Center for Law and Economics discusses antitrust and mergers in the U.S. and Great Britain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Pentagon Papers launched a decades-long fight over how to protect the public from threats while respecting the public's right to know how government works. Patrick Eddington and Julian Sanchez discusses the 50th anniversary of the Pentagon Papers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As many thousands of businesses have been bankrupted or closed because of the pandemic, there are ways for state and local governments to foster a more robust recovery. Chris Edwards explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Art Carden is coauthor of Leave Me Alone and I’ll Make You Rich: How The Bourgeois Deal Enriched the World. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are downsides to social entrepreneurship, according to Kimberlee Josephson of Lebanon Valley College. She details what she sees as risks of focusing on goods other than the bottom line. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Mexico ended civil forfeiture in 2015. What's happened in policing since then? Jennifer McDonald of the Institute for Justice crunched the numbers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an especially hot housing market with significant supply constraints, why spend taxpayer money to goose demand? Housing researcher Nolan Gray argues it's precisely the wrong policy response. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The long-awaited FDA ban on menthol cigarettes is now in the works. Guy Bentley of the Reason Foundation believes the social consequences will be both negative and predictable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cities have great opportunities to drive higher incomes and tax revenue by fostering innovative problem solving, but future beneficiaries of gig work and home-based businesses are rarely the loudest voices in the room. Greg Brooks of the Better Cities Project comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Follow the science" is good advice for lawmakers, but in so many contexts where dominant scientific views change, it should mean lawmakers intervene less often. Jeff Singer explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.