Cato Podcast

When the feds thought Vascular Solutions would be a good target for a fraud investigation, CEO Howard Root thought it was merely a shakedown. He was wrong. Howard Root is author of Cardiac Arrest: Five Heart-Stopping Years as a CEO on the Feds' Hit-List. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What incentives govern private prisons? Are they fundamentally different from state-run facilities? Do private prison operators or the unions that represent prison workers hold undue sway over policymakers? Lauren-Brooke Eisen is author of Inside Private Prisons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will elements of Dodd Frank and the Patriot Act that burden banks go away in 2018? Bert Ely discusses elements of financial regulation that might get changed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You might hold higher hopes that the worst days are gone in the fight over judicial nominations. Ilya Shapiro says they may be poised to get more rancorous and bitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The police killings of Walter Scott and Daniel Shaver provide more reason to change how laws punish bad and incompetent cops. Clark Neily comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Ryan Holiday says it's no surprise that stoicism has a resurgence when times are tough. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Disney's vast catalog is about to expand with the acquisition of the assets of 20th Century Fox. How do decades-long copyright terms affect streaming companies' business models? Peter Van Doren discusses Disney's move. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Affordable Care Act's individual mandate will be zeroed out in 2019 when some provisions of the tax bill take effect. What is the likely fallout? Michael Cannon comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An exploit known to the NSA was likely used by North Korean hackers to disrupt thousands of computer systems globally. Julian Sanchez discusses the case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ike Brannon describes the tax reform that didn't happen, but should have. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How valuable are national security documents? And speeches about those documents? Trevor Thrall comments on the latest presidential speech on national security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The centerpiece of the Republican tax reform plan is a substantial cut in the corporate tax rate. Spending cuts will apparently have to wait. Chris Edwards comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Federal Reserve likely to raise interest rates at this week’s FOMC meeting, another step will be have been taken in the Fed’s “Normalization” plan. The Fed will, however, enter 2018 facing many more issues. Tate Lacey comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How governments and corporations make use of your face will grow in importance in the coming years. Protections for your privacy are currently hard to come by. Clare Garvie of the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy and Technology comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How is policing being changed by new technology? Andrew G. Ferguson is author of The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law Enforcement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Protecting species is often a complicated task. It doesn't help when the feds overreach. Reed Watson of the Property and Environment Research Center comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many hurdles remain in place for innovation in the sphere of telemedicine. Shirley Svorny offers her thoughts in a new Cato paper, "Liberating Telemedicine: Options to Eliminate the State-Licensing Roadblock." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whatever turns up in a planned audit for the Pentagon won't address a larger problem: The U.S. military does too much in too many places. Still, it’s a good idea. Chris Preble discusses what an audit might reveal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A ban on so-called "bump stocks" earned a surprise endorsement from some Republicans. As Congress considers a bump stock ban and the creation of state reciprocity of gun permits, Dave Kopel offers his thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The arguments are varied in the case of the Masterpiece Cakeshop baker who refused a commission from a gay couple. What did the oral argument reveal? Ilya Shapiro comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One casualty of tax reform may be the mandate that hides the costs of Obamacare. Michael F. Cannon discusses the change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Collins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court has an opportunity to reaffirm that your home is truly your castle. Jay Schweikert discusses the Cato Institute’s brief in the case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is North Korea ready to talk? Is the United States? Cato Senior Fellow Doug Bandow comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to be a "cooperating witness" in an FBI investigation, especially one looking into potential collusion between a campaign and the Russian government? Michael Flynn is finding that out. Clark Neily comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's the best way to handle the continuing attempts by foreign governments to destabilize American institutions with social media and mere advertising? Flemming Rose discusses the importance of not taking the wrong lessons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A year later, what does the Donald Trump foreign policy look like? Cato's Sahar Khan and John Glaser comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is less accountable than most federal agencies by design. That's in part why outgoing director Richard Cordray felt perfectly comfortable naming his own replacement. Thaya Brook Knight discusses the fight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the American west, if you don't use your water rights, you can lose them. That's not a great plan for conserving water. Reed Watson of the Property and Environment Research Center comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is a subsidy to developers, and it's a credit that creates many opportunities for mischief. Chris Edwards and Vanessa Brown Calder discuss their new report on the subject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Complying with Obamacare while innovating in health coverage is a difficult task, according Rea Hederman of the Buckeye Institute. We spoke at the State Policy Network annual meeting in San Antonio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did selective grants of corporate power culminate in a war on rent in New York in the 1830s and 1840s? Cato's Anthony Comegna explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economist Charles Calomiris examines the relative strength of the Chinese economy in light of the country's economic slowdown, capital controls, and continued broad central planning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Occupational licensing represents a potentially serious impediment to economic progress, and yet eliminating licenses is a long, laborious process. Lisa Knepper and Jennifer McDonald of the Institute for Justice discuss their License to Work report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bitcoin's turbulent times have been driven in part by technical considerations and government attempts to crack down on the cryptocurrency. Will Luther, a professor of economics at Kenyon College, comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do demographic trends interact with monetary policy? Would a change in the Fed's mandate change how the agency looks at demographics? Loretta J. Mester, President of the Cleveland Fed, comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Cordray will leave his post as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Does this mean the agency can finally be scrapped? Thaya Brook Knight comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are governments institutionally incapable of giving accurate nutrition advice? Cato Visiting Senior Fellow Dr. Terence Kealey is author of Breakfast is a Dangerous Meal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How will elimination of education-related deductions and other tax changes affect higher education? Neal McCluskey comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Government control over air travel is still onerous, and that can limit both choice and the safety of travel. Gary Leff of the Mercatus Center and the blog View from the Wing discusses the latest fight over air travel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tate Lacey discusses the changes that are coming to the Federal Reserve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do education savings accounts (ESAs) work? Jonathan Butcher of the Goldwater Institute and the Heritage Foundation discussed their merits at the State Policy Network Annual Meeting in San Antonio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Kansas cut taxes and raised spending, state lawmakers make a serious (and obvious) error. Dave Trabert of the Kansas Policy Institute offers his thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has alienated the leaders of many governments, but Saudi Arabia's leaders are not among them. Now, the Saudis are making radical changes in governance, economics, and traditions. Emma Ashford comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's too much money in politics, or so goes the chestnut. Economist Jeff Milyo offers some perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The data on misconduct and corruption among border patrol agents is especially murky, but we have some evidence available to us. Alex Nowrasteh is author of "Border Patrol Termination Rates," a new policy analysis from the Cato Institute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the long history of the ebb and flow of liberty, some examples stand out. Jim Otteson of Wake Forest University offered a few of those examples at Cato Club 200. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did Hong Kong rise to prominence as a hub of global commerce? Neil Monnery is author of Architect of Prosperity: Sir John Cowperthwaite and the Making of Hong Kong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should you be subsidizing hikers and cyclists on public lands? Holly Fretwell of the Property and Environment Research Center comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conservatism has seen better days. Jeff Flake, Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona, discussed what he sees as problems in the conservative movement at Cato Club 200 in Laguna Beach, California. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Home health care workers in Pennsylvania are struggling to stay out of unions. David Osborne of the Fairness Center discusses his case to keep unions out of Pennsylvania homes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.