Cato Podcast

Young Americans are leaving home, finding jobs, buying homes, starting families, and saving for retirement later than previous generations. But is this a problem with young people, or are bad policies getting in their way? Rikki Schlott sits down with Cato’s Ryan Bourne to explore how regulations, inflation, and government intervention can make these steps into adulthood harder and more expensive....

Socialism is making a comeback in American politics, but do people actually know what "socialism" means? In this episode of the Cato Weekly Podcast, Paul Meany sits down with Marian Tupy to unpack the rise of “democratic socialism,” the growth of the welfare state, and the crucial difference between government assistance and government control. Read Marian's article here: https://www...

Flock cameras and other forms of surveillance technology are spreading across America, promising to help police solve crimes. But the technology has also created a vast network for tracking where Americans go. Join Laura Bondank-Harmon and Clark Neily as they discuss how much privacy and freedom we’re giving up in the name of security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Hard Is It to Rig an American Election? Election fraud claims are increasingly more common. Walter Olson joins Stephen Rowe to separate genuine election irregularities from viral fraud claims. They explain what the evidence tells us about mail-in voting, voter ID, foreign interference, and the integrity of the US election system. Read Walter's work here: https://www.cato.org/people/walter-...

In an unprecedented expansion of its role in the marketplace, the Trump administration has acquired ownership interests in dozens of firms. Cato's Scott Lincicome joins Laura Bondank-Harmon to discuss this radical move from the US government, the seen and unseen costs of intervening in the private sector, and how should Congress act if they want to put a stop to it before it's too late. Re...

Free health care, housing, college, paid leave, and retirement benefits may sound appealing... but how would we pay for them? Rikki Schlott sits down with Cato’s Adam Michel to unpack the Democratic Socialists of America’s ambitious agenda and the staggering cost of its proposals. If taxing the rich and corporations is not enough to foot the bill, who would be paying next? Access Adam Michel's...

Every Tuesday on The Cato Weekly Podcast , leading scholars and policymakers from the Cato Institute delve into the big ideas shaping our world: individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Whether unpacking current events, debating civil liberties, exploring technological innovation, or tracing the history of classical liberal thought, we promise insightful analysis grounded i...

A number that's precise, dramatic, and politically convenient should raise your suspicion, not lower it. Aaron Brown, author of  Wrong Number: How to Extract Truth from a Blizzard of Quantitative Disinformation , joins Cato's Ryan Bourne to break down the warning signs of a bad statistic, from missing context to claims that arrive straight from a press release. Hosted on Acast. See acast...

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Vermont versus Cook County, its biggest Second Amendment case since Heller. The Cato Institute's Clark Neily, who worked on the original Heller case, joins Rikki Schlott to explain what's at stake for the 20 to 25 million Americans who already own an AR-15 style rifle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rep. Kevin Fitzpatrick (R) and Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D) lead one of Washington's only bipartisan caucuses, the Problem Solvers Caucus, and they've teamed up on an affordability agenda that touches housing, energy, health care, and immigration. Ryan Bourne walks through where their plan overlaps with Cato's own affordability handbook, and where free market and interventionist solutions still diverge....

New York City Mayor Mamdani wants five city owned grocery stores selling staples 30% below cost, at $70 million to build and $100 million a year to run. Cato's Rikki Schlott talks with Don Boudreaux about why private supermarkets survive on 2% profit margins, and what actually happens when government tries to run a store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 60% of housing markets in the United States have been characterized as “unaffordable.” Cato's Ryan Bourne talks with Howard Husock of the American Enterprise Institute about why rent freezes, vouchers, and government run housing tend to make the problem worse, using New York City as a cautionary case study. They lay out what actually works instead: zoning reform, faster permitting, and more...

Earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled that the president could not use the "International Emergency Economic Powers Act" (IEEPA) to impose tariffs and the administration immediately turned to other legal mechanisms to assert that power. Laura Bondank-Harmon interviews Clark Neily and Ilya Somin to unpack the legal battles over Trump’s tariffs, the statutes the administration is now invoking, a...

Most rich countries that tried annual wealth taxes eventually scrapped them, but now California and Elizabeth Warren want to run the experiment in the United States. Ryan Bourne talks with Adam Michel about how a “modest” 3 percent levy can swallow 60 percent of an asset’s 5 percent return—and leave workers footing much of the bill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The conflict with Iran is simultaneously ending and escalating, and Justin Logan says that's no accident. He tells the Cato Institute's Laura Bondank-Harmon why the strategic case never existed, even as the death toll, price tag, and oil prices keep climbing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artificial intelligence could transform productivity, employment, and living standards. But does that mean governments should “act now” to “steer” the technology? Economist John Cochrane joins Cato’s Ryan Bourne to explain why he thinks a prominent economists’ letter gets the problem wrong, whether fears of mass job loss are justified, and how speculation about AI’s potential is already shaping pu...

Medicare spent $1.2 trillion in 2025 and still can't show it's saving lives. The Cato Institute's Laura Bondank-Harmon is joined by Michael Cannon and David Hyman to mark the program's 60th anniversary, explaining how it broke health care pricing and why "Medicare for All" would only make it worse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prediction-market pioneer Robin Hanson joins Cato's Ryan Bourne to explain this new industry's promise, how betting can improve decision-making, and whether we should worry about insider trading, manipulation, and sabotage as these markets proliferate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Financial surveillance in America is expanding.  In this episode, host Nicholas Anthony sits down with Representative Warren Davidson to discuss the growing reach of the Bank Secrecy Act, and why it’s time to scale back the surveillance of law-abiding Americans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Parents in many parts of the country face eye-watering childcare bills, yet providers often operate on thin margins and workers remain modestly paid. Cato's Chelsea Follett joins Ryan Bourne to discuss the economics behind America’s childcare crunch, the regressive regulations that make care scarcer, and the supply-side reforms that could give families more affordable options. Hosted on Acast. See...

Trump's executive order tested the limits of the 14th Amendment and lost, 6-3. Cato's Laura Bondank-Harmon is joined by David Bier and Tommy Berry to understand why, and how the ruling fits into an immigration agenda that's closing legal pathways even as it loses in court. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Americans know the Declaration’s soaring opening case for natural rights and government by consent. Fewer remember its long list of “injuries and usurpations” against King George III. Cato’s Tommy Berry joins Ryan Bourne to discuss Cato's new book -  A History of Repeated Injuries —and whether modern governments have revived threats to liberty that the Declaration denounces, from ta...

Golf courses and factories use just as much water and electricity as data centers, yet only the latter draws local protests and construction bans. Cato's Rikki Schlott sits down with Travis Fisher and Jennifer Huddleston to make the case for energy abundance and technological advancement over fearmongering and warn that moratoriums could hand China the AI edge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

60% of Americans say their rights and freedoms are at risk. Yet nearly two thirds still call America the land of opportunity and three quarters believe the American dream is personally achievable. Cato's Stephen Rowe and Emily Ekins dig into Cato's new survey on what Americans really think at 250 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Republicans and Democrats are finding rare common ground: taxing AI. But should they? Cato's Adam Michel and Daniel Bunn of the Tax Foundation dismantle the three biggest arguments around the idea: showing why the data doesn't support the claims that AI is replacing workers, labor is losing out to capital, or the tax code unfairly favors automation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...