Cato Event Podcast

US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has been given an unusual mandate: to end the department she has been tasked with overseeing. As out of the ordinary as that might be, it is the right mission, because the Constitution gives the federal government no authority to govern in education, and the department’s practical track record has been terrible. Join us for a very special fireside chat—short...

School and district leaders are uniquely positioned to implement interdisciplinary civil discourse as schoolwide practices that empower educators and allow for each student’s voice to be heard. By doing so, leaders build positive school cultures where students and staff bridge diverse viewpoints and have space for discussion, understanding, and reflection. In this webinar, you will hear from a&nbs...

Tech policy has created more opportunities for entrepreneurship than just Silicon Valley startups. The availability of online platforms has empowered a new wave of entrepreneurs who might never reach household fame but who are contributing both to their own households and the greater economy. Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow in tech policy, speaks with two content creators about how these plat...

In this episode of  Competencies in Civil Discourse , Erec Smith welcomes William Deresiewicz to explore the mission of the Matthew Strother Center for the Examined Life. Together, they unpack the role of intellectual courage, liberal education, and moral seriousness in reviving thoughtful dialogue in an age of ideological conformity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

Populist narratives are gaining traction across the political spectrum, claiming that free markets have failed the American middle class. Critics argue that trade, immigration, and technological change have hollowed out manufacturing jobs and created an economy that no longer works for most Americans. In  Crushing Capitalism: How Populist Policies Are Threatening the American Dream , economis...

The United States and Iran are on a collision course. Iran is closer to developing a nuclear weapon than at any point in the country’s history. Mixed messages from Washington and Tehran—coupled with rising pressure from hardliners on both sides—are complicating negotiations. Meanwhile, several flashpoints across the Middle East could set off a conflict. The prospects of American or Israeli militar...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), it was told the new energy tax credits would cost about $270 billion over a decade. Revised official estimates put the cost at multiple times that amount. But congressional scorekeepers may still be getting the long-term cost of the IRA energy subsidies wrong. Recent Cato research quantifies the IRA’s fiscal time bomb, showing how its uncheck...

Sphere is excited to introduce a new suite of interdisciplinary globalization resources to spark discussion with students about the impacts of globalization on society and progress. Globalization has been evolving and connecting societies for centuries, but it has faced renewed attention, particularly in relation to trade and tariff policies. Through moderated discussion with Scott Lincicome,...

Join us for a compelling conversation with  Alex Nowrasteh , Cato’s Vice President of Economic and Social Policy Studies, and  Clark Neily , Senior Vice President for Legal Studies, as they discuss the alarming rise in deportations without due process and the erosion of due process protections across the United States. They’ll explore the sweeping actions of the Trump administration—what...

Polarization threatens American democracy, deeply pervading politics, schools, and everyday life. What sits at the root of this trend and how might we turn the tide? Philosopher Robert Talisse offers a compelling examination of these issues and offers a provocative solution—civic solitude. Join the Cato Institute and Sphere Education Initiatives on April 17th at 11 am EST, in person or online...

As government regulations increasingly encroach upon personal health care choices, patients face growing limitations on their ability to make their own decisions. In Your Body, Your Health Care, Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer validates these frustrations while presenting a bold philosophical framework for reforming the relationship between individuals, the health care system, and the state. Through thought...

With less than 5 percent of the world’s population and almost a quarter of its prisoners, the United States indisputably has a mass incarceration problem. The Constitution contains numerous safeguards that check the state’s power to lock people up. Yet since the 1960s, the Supreme Court has repeatedly disregarded these limits, bowing instead to unfounded claims that adherence to the Constitution i...

The September 6, 1901, assassination of President William McKinley by self-professed anarchist Leon Czolgosz triggered a nationwide political backlash against the killer’s like-minded political adherents. It also served as the catalyst for the expansion of nascent federal government surveillance capabilities used against not only anarchists but socialists and members of other social or political m...

We tend to think of public education as a ladder of opportunity—a system that ensures that no matter a child’s economic circumstances, they will get the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in life. But what if that’s wrong? Indeed, what if the goal is actually the opposite: to keep people docilely in their place, no matter how bad their situation? This is what  Raised to Obey , grounded...

Competencies in Civil Discourse , a series on the effectiveness of civil discourse and the skills it requires, will feature an interview with Ian Rowe, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and cofounder of Vertex Partnership Academies in the Bronx. His schools emphasize empowering youth to develop and exercise their agency in American society. Rowe explores these ideas in his book,&n...

Celebrate Women’s History Month with Sphere Education Initiatives! In this webinar, we will explore the intersection of economics and women’s empowerment, examining how it influences women’s mobility and their role in society. Scholars will highlight how removing barriers to economic participation is not only empowering for women but good for overall human progress. We will examine factors of soci...

Somewhere between the tendency to see everything through the lens of race and racial oppression and the tendency to dismiss those dynamics altogether lies the truth in any given setting, including criminal justice. That there are police officers in this country who hold racist views is a problem the FBI has acknowledged in its own intelligence reports and information-sharing guidance to its agents...

Jimmy Lai became China’s most prominent political prisoner when he was arrested and convicted on trumped-up charges after Hong Kong imposed its draconian security law in mid-2020. Mark Clifford will tell Lai’s story of escaping China to Hong Kong as a boy, becoming a successful entrepreneur in the fashion industry, and founding and running the wildly popular  Apple Daily  newspaper and&n...

In recent years, calls to limit, regulate, or ban social media platforms have escalated from all corners of the political spectrum. These concerns have been as varied as national security, foreign ownership, and the danger of disinformation in a divided democracy. Yet perhaps the most cross‐​partisan concern has come from increasing evidence of social media’s detrimental impact on youth menta...

In conventional political debate—particularly in Washington, DC—“law” is understood as top-down legislation: rules consciously designed and imposed by central authorities. John Hasnas challenges this unspoken assumption, pointing to the Anglo-American common law, a decentralized, continually evolving system that produces order without conscious design or political control. In his important new boo...

Argentine President Javier Milei came to power nearly a year ago on the campaign promise to abolish the central bank and dollarize his country’s economy. As part of his ambitious reform agenda, the government has eliminated fiscal deficits and significantly reduced public spending and inflation. Milei remains committed to dollarization but has not yet implemented that reform. Given the progress in...

From the founding of the republic through the early 1930s, Congress set tariff rates through legislative revisions to the US tariff schedule. Low tariffs were initially imposed to raise revenue for the federal government, but tariffs became a tool to protect domestic producers from foreign competition. Today, Congress has broadly delegated its constitutional tariff powers to the president, and the...

Higher education is at a crossroads. American universities are facing important questions about accountability and viability, including concerns about ideological influences, rising administrative costs, shifting academic expectations, and the growing challenge of student loan debt. But what are the underlying causes of these challenges, and how can we address them? Join us for a thoughtful discus...

Occupational licensing boards today act like protectors of cartels, often going beyond merely issuing licenses to launching witch hunts and boxing out their competitors. February 2025 marks the 10-year anniversary of the US Supreme Court decision in  North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC . In that case, that state’s dental licensing board was ruled to be acting like a monopoli...