Cato Podcast

In some modern industries, it's hard to separate the bootlegger from the baptist. Adam Smith, coauthor of Bootleggers and Baptists , says the marijuana industry offers some interesting case studies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How will the new Congress deal with surveillance issues? Cato's Patrick G. Eddington is optimistic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should the market for telecommunication services be treated like your old rotary dial phone? Berin Szoka with TechFreedom comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sait Matty Jaw is a lecturer at the University of the Gambia. He has not been seen since his arrest by the government's secret police last week. Casey Given from Students for Liberty provides an update. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin Dowd , an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, is not high on bitcoin. He considers the cryptocurrency a "sell" in its present incarnation. He spoke at the Cato Institute's  32nd Annual Monetary Conference . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The War on Drugs has devalued discretion for police officers. Neill Franklin of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Smith's other book,  The Theory of Moral Sentiments , is often neglected. Author and economist Russ Roberts says it's an important and valuable guide to important parts of our lives. His new book is  How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cato's David Boaz and John Samples evaluate the 2014 elections and prospects for a more libertarian public policy in the coming years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Voting is a more complicated and morally questionable endeavor than merely "making your voice heard."  Aaron Powell  explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his new book, Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court , Damon Root traces the libertarian approach to the proper role of government under the Constitution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The latest round of lawsuits surrounding the Affordable Care Act ask that the law be implemented as written. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt discusses his lawsuit. Pruitt , Halbig , King & Indiana : Is ObamaCare Once Again Headed to the Supreme Court? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Certificate of need laws give incumbent businesses the ability to veto their competition. Matthew Mitchell of the Mercatus Center explores the history and economics of these laws. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The IRS is seizing the assets of business people, but then won't file criminal charges. Larry Salzman from the Institute for Justice is taking the agency to court. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rand Paul seeks to separate himself from other Republicans (and Hillary Clinton) by offering restraint as a value in American foreign policy. Christopher A. Preble comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The threats to law enforcement posed by strong encryption seem to be at odds with the benefits encryption provides against threats to cybersecurity. Julian Sanchez comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The intellectual traditions of conservatism and socialism, oddly enough, owe much to classical liberalism. So says Brian Doherty, author of Radicals for Capitalism . He spoke at this year's Cato University . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Devolving state power and money to local governments and people drives growth and fosters self-government. Greg Lawson from the Buckeye Institute discusses how to make it happen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Judges are beginning to question the on-the-books legal protections assigned to state pensions, especially when those protections conflict with other laws. Eileen Norcross studies pensions at the Mercatus Center. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Gessing of the Rio Grande Foundation describes the impact of New Mexico's dependence on federal largesse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ed Whelan corrects the record and reviews the Supreme Court's narrow Hobby Lobby decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leonard Liggio was an important pillar in the modern libertarian movement and someone who connected modern libertarian ideas with their historical antecedents. Tom G. Palmer comments on Liggio's impact on ideas and libertarianism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do states hand out special benefits in the tax code? William Freeland from the American Legislative Exchange Council provides some notable examples and avenues for reform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The "Bootlegger and Baptist" theory, a public-choice theory developed more than 30 years ago, holds that for a regulation to emerge and endure, both the "bootleggers," who seek to obtain private benefits from the regulation, and the "Baptists," who seek to serve the public interest, must support the regulation. Economists Adam Smith and Bruce Yandle discuss the concept. Bootleggers and Baptists: H...

What happens after so-called right-to-work legislation passes? Joe Lehman of the Mackinac Center details the experience in Michigan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conservatives broadly believe in law and order, but the death penalty as an institution has clearly failed. Marc Hyden with Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty says it's time for government-run executions to end. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.