Cato Event Podcast

The debate about US policy toward China hinges on rarely stated judgments about the nature of the challenge. Is China mainly a revisionist or a status quo state? Should the United States keep all its international commitments amid China’s rise? What military posture can best defend those commitments? In his latest book,  Retrench, Defend, Compete , Charles Glaser assesses these first-order qu...

The Qur’an famously declares, “There is no compulsion in religion.” Yet, various forms of religious compulsion persist today in parts of the Muslim world, including death penalties for apostates and blasphemers, legal inequalities that disadvantage women and non-Muslims, and “morality police” who enforce strict norms on society. In this new book from the Cato Institute, Mustafa Akyol has assembled...

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we recall the key principles that form America’s foundation. Of these, the “certain unalienable rights” the Founders declared are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Yet, the Founders saw “liberty” not as the freedom to do whatever one wants—but rather the freedom to act and live in ways that promote virtue. ...

For centuries, the greatest protection against unjust convictions and punishments was the institution of jury independence, including so-called “jury nullification.” The prosecutions of John Moore and Tanner Mansell illustrate a scenario in which jurors—apprised of their historic injustice-preventing powers—would have rendered a not guilty verdict. But because John and Tanner’s jurors, who appeare...

Winner of the Grand Prize for Documentary at the 2025 South by Southwest Film Festival,  Shuffle  is filmmaker Benjamin Flaherty’s powerful exposé of unintended consequences in American health policy. Through intimate portraits of people seeking recovery from opioid addiction, Flaherty reveals how federal mandates—particularly within the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid—have unintentiona...

In the name of material progress, the West has sought to develop and frequently exploit the less-developed “rest.” William Easterly will draw from 400 years of history—ranging from the conquest of the Americas and the Atlantic slave trade to colonization in Asia and Africa and the invention of the Third World—to show how the West has justified different forms of intervention in the societies...

As America’s debt climbs and the danger of a fiscal crisis grows, is it time to add a constitutional guardrail? In Fiscal Democracy in America, Kurt Couchman proposes a principles-based balanced budget amendment (BBA) to address the persistent deficits in Washington in a flexible and politically feasible manner. Marc Goldwein draws on his experience in fiscal commissions and provides a challenge t...

The school choice movement is often seen as a modern, partisan undermining of a cherished institution: public education.  Fighting for the Freedom to Learn  shows that the struggle for educational freedom is not new but an enduring part of US history. It is rooted in traditions of parents and communities shaping how children learn and perpetual struggles for people without political powe...

Since the 1930s, the federal government has used the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) deposit insurance to justify its increased involvement in banking. Now, in the name of supporting community banks, some policymakers have proposed raising the FDIC insurance cap from $250,000 to $10 million. They claim that in the wake of the bank failures of 2023, depositors fled from small banks a...

How does China’s economy affect US policy? US policymakers have responded to perceived dangers from China by using industrial policy, export controls, and attempting to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities. Some analysts have concluded that China is developing a sizable technological capacity that poses a challenge to the US economy, and potentially constrains US foreign policy. How much leverage h...

George White, CEO of The C.M. Paula Company—an Ohio-based holding company with businesses across several industries—recently joined Scott Lincicome to discuss the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on several of C.M. Paula’s affiliated companies. White discussed the intricacies of managing firms with a global network of suppliers, the costs the tariffs have imposed on the companies’ oper...

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Few people exerted as profound an influence on the postwar conservative movement and the “fusionist” project of attempting to align libertarians with traditional conservatives on issues of shared interest as William F. Buckley Jr. The founder and longtime editor of  National Review , Buckley hosted the weekly PBS program  Firing Line , wrote a syndicated column, and authored roughly 50 b...

How should we grapple with the legacies of complex historical figures? Join Sphere Education Initiatives and Civic Spirit for this unique virtual professional learning opportunity. The webinar will take a deep dive into building civil discourse around the Founders, who embody both profound achievements and troubling flaws. We’ll explore the challenges of avoiding oversimplification, whether b...

Are you wondering how to spark more joy and curiosity in your child’s learning—or how to make education work better for your students? In her new book,  Joyful Learning , Kerry McDonald shares inspiring stories of families and educators who are reimagining education through microschools, pods, and other creative approaches. In this one-on-one conversation, McDonald will answer your questions...

The prospect of a Chinese invasion and conquest of Taiwan is a major focus of US–China security competition. Apart from its political, economic, and moral consequences, some US experts argue that Chinese control of Taiwan would compromise the US military position in Asia, bolstering the case that the United States should commit its military to defend Taiwan’s autonomy. Jonathan Caverley and Evan M...

Join us for the official launch of  Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes  by  Romina Boccia  and  Ivane Nachkebia , a timely and urgent new book in which the authors rethink how America can safeguard retirement security for current and future generations. As the Social Security program nears a fiscal tipping point, the authors bring tog...

Join us for the official launch of  Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes  by  Romina Boccia  and  Ivane Nachkebia , a timely and urgent new book in which the authors rethink how America can safeguard retirement security for current and future generations. As the Social Security program nears a fiscal tipping point, the authors bring tog...

Join us for the official launch of  Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes  by  Romina Boccia  and  Ivane Nachkebia , a timely and urgent new book in which the authors rethink how America can safeguard retirement security for current and future generations. As the Social Security program nears a fiscal tipping point, the authors bring tog...

Join us for the official launch of  Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes  by  Romina Boccia  and  Ivane Nachkebia , a timely and urgent new book in which the authors rethink how America can safeguard retirement security for current and future generations. As the Social Security program nears a fiscal tipping point, the authors bring tog...

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