Cato Podcast

Though ending the Department of Education is a good idea, even fans of school choice ought to be wary of President-elect Trump's plan to nationalize school choice. Neal McCluskey explains why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No, it's not real. The Social Security trust fund is a gimmick. And if it were real, it would be full of IOUs. Romina Boccia lays to rest several fictions surrounding Social Security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Kennedy Jr. may carry significant influence in public health policy in the near term. Even if he seems to recognize a few big problems inherent to federal policymaking, many of his most prominent ideas are seriously misguided. Jeff Singer comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

State governments regularly engage in corporate handouts to boost their electability. The evidence that they're good for taxpayers is still weak. John Mozena of the Center for Economic Accountability and Cato’s Steve Slivinski comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Immigration and inflation loomed large in the race for the White House. Emily Ekins details the what changed since 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Americans voted on more than just a contentious Presidential fight. Ranked-choice voting, labor reform, and drugs were among the issues decided. Walter Olson details a few of them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For freedom-enhancing policy, a second Trump term provides obvious, large downsides and risks, but there are likely policy upsides to a second Trump term. Alex Nowrasteh explains what Donald Trump might do in his now-secured second term. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A man currently on death row in Texas is probably innocent, and it’s taken more effort than you might hope to get his case re-examined. Republican State Rep. Brian Harrison comments on the legislature’s temporary delay to Robert Roberson’s execution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The work of judges is often opaque to the public and poorly understood generally, and yet voters are regularly expected to vote on them. Clint Bolick of the Arizona Supreme Court makes his case for a better way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Biden administration's FTC has earned the ire of many who support a more freewheeling business sector. Would a Harris administration maintain that skepticism toward big business? Or are those ideas about punishing big companies more suited to Team Trump? Jennifer Huddleston comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Public machinations over in vitro fertilization have stepped up since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, including a high-profile endorsement of federal subsidies from presidential candidate Donald Trump. Vanessa Brown Calder says that plan is wrongheaded and provides some context. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia is 50. Professor Eric Mack discusses its relevance today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The introduction of soldiers from both North and South Korea in Russia's assault on Ukraine poses significant risks for the US. Cato's Doug Bandow explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congress has broadly delegated its tariff powers to the president. There is a real risk that the legislative and judicial branches would not check a future president’s abuse of US trade law as currently written. Cato's Clark Packard provides details. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Digital nomads are people who can do their work from anywhere and regularly do. Unclear rules governing foreigners working in the US make our country relatively less welcoming to these travelers. David Bier explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Federal Reserve directly controls a rate that for a long time drove interest rates. Does it still work that way? Cato's Jai Kedia looked at the evidence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China's irregular military exercises around Taiwan express Beijing's displeasure with Taiwanese leadership, so how seriously should the US take those demonstrations? Eric Gomez comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Protectionist measures like tariffs often harm the very firms and people they're supposed to help. Paul Best explains in a new piece in Free Society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Matzko discusses some of the long history of American-style mashups of faith traditions and the direction of government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Education entrepreneurship has grown dramatically since the pandemic. Kerry McDonald details how to protect these innovative learning environments from regulators. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The freedom to trade is morally good. Congress has sadly delegated many of its powers over trade to the White House. That poses particular risks today. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) discusses his efforts at reclaiming legislative power over trade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As many voters will consider changes to voting processes, what does recent experience tell us about ranked-choice voting? Walter Olson explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did your governor perform on various fiscal policy metrics? Cato's Chris Edwards details the Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What makes an arrest retaliatory and what evidence ought to be up for consideration when courts decide if an arrest was, in fact, a retaliation? Thanks in part to a clarifying decision from the Supreme Court earlier this year, courts now must grapple more seriously with that question. Patrick Jaicomo of the Institute for Justice offers his thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Homeschooling has been having a moment that seems to have been going on for a few years. Angela Watson of Homeschool Hub and Cato's Colleen Hroncich discuss the implications. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the absence of significant reforms, Americans should be prepared for a future that looks more like the European tax system. Adam Michel discusses what that would mean in a new Cato paper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Federal agencies can haul you into their own court-like rooms and delay your day in a real court. State agencies often do the same. This isn't how it ought to be. Daniel Dew of the Pacific Legal Foundation discusses how state officials avoid making their arguments in real courts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America's financial system is inseparable from America's enormous growth, productivity, and prosperity. Many myths about financial markets persist. Norbert Michel and Jennifer Schulp detail the many critical benefits of robust financial markets in Financing Opportunity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

F.A. Hayek's contributions to economics are hard to overstate. This week marks fifty years since Hayek became a Nobel Laureate for that work. Economists Peter Boettke and Bruce Caldwell detail some of Hayek's enduring contributions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz seems to have a poor understanding of what the First Amendment protects. Donald Trump pledges to use the Department of Justice to punish Google over the presentation of negative news stories about him. Cato's Brent Skorup and Nico Perrino of FIRE detail the candidates' troubling views. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Federal health programs contribute to massive and unsustainable government overspending. Government control of most health care dollars continues apace. Neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris has a plan to fix it. Michael Cannon explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ohio's Buckeye Institute is challenging the IRS practice of collecting and storing information on major donors to American nonprofits. Buckeye president Robert Alt explains why the case matters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Offering subsidies is how many states show interest in bringing in a new business enterprise and states regularly try to offer more than other states can, but it doesn't have to be that way. Marc Joffe explains how states can get out of the trap of playing the subsidies game against their neighbors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few changes might make for broadly better political debates, especially debates among presidential candidates. Erec Smith makes his case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Squatters pose a challenge for property owners, law enforcement, and state legislatures. Kyle Sweetland of the Pacific Legal Foundation offers some ways for states to address the issue to give owners more control over their property. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An old and common law on many cities' books was meant to crack down on houses of prostitution. Today those same laws are used to effectively ban boarding houses or college student housing. Deirdre McCloskey and Art Carden tell the tale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cato's Patrick Eddington details what he's learned about how intelligence agencies handle requests for information about their own internal accountability measures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discussions about renewing or adopting something like the JCPOA to slow Iran's advance toward nuclear weapons should be tempered by the evidence. Justin Logan believes it's a dead letter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the government sets the allowable interest rate on credit cards, that's a straightforward price control. Nick Anthony explains why Donald Trump's recent proposal to limit credit card interest would be disastrous. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has continued his largely successful push to centralize power in Mexico under him. Cato's Ian Vasquez says the turn away from markets and freedom will bring dire results for average people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legal landscape for parents seeking religious education for their children has become friendlier, thanks in large part to court rulings relating to school choice and religious discrimination. Neal McCluskey details where things stand now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new law challenging TikTok's presence in the US went before a federal court this week. Cato's Jennifer Huddleston and Tommy Berry detail the arguments presented. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the Cato Institute's conference on financial privacy, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) discussed the civil liberties implications of pervasive financial surveillance of Americans among other issues with Cato's Jennifer Schulp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the Federal Reserve uses a ministerial task to punish financial innovation, what's a bank to do? Take them to court, for one. Caitlin Long is CEO of Custodia Bank. She and Cato's Jack Solowey detail how and why the Fed is cracking down on innovators. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In evaluating the potential outcomes of the expansion of AI, the natural tendency is to downplay the benefits and highlight the risks. Oprah Winfrey recently jumped into the conversation. Jennifer Huddleston comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Protecting our earthly environment is a worthy task, so why do many conservatives seem to believe that the private sector should have a severely limited role? Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center offers his take. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The FDA's rejection of MDMA as a treatment may well be a short-term setback for legally helping people with PTSD and other disorders. Mason Marks of Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy offers his assessment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After months of protest, counterprotest, and administrative overreaction over the last school year, the protection of free speech on college campuses seems less certain than ever. Angela Erickson of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression discusses their new College Free Speech Rankings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In The Islamic Moses, Mustafa Akyol provides a theological and historical exploration of the connection between Islam and Judaism through the single most-mentioned character in the Quran. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What will/should conservatism look like after this election year? John Hood of the John William Pope Foundation comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.