Cato Event Podcast

How can advanced democracies modernize their economies and reform their welfare states? Drawing on the successful experiences of Sweden and Australia, Nils Karlson will explain the ways in which competing political parties can promote more dynamic economies and more flexible and open societies. He will discuss how distinct reform strategies, the development of new ideas, and policy entrepreneurship can overcome barriers to reform. John Samples will discuss the book's relevance to the rise of populism, overregulation, chronic budget deficits, and other features of many modern welfare states. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1994, responding to a terrible murder, Congress passed a law requiring all 50 states to set up sex offender registries. Now many states closely control where and with whom persons on the registries may live, while public maps showing offenders’ places of residence lead to social shunning and occasional harassment. They also scare parents from letting their children play outside.But does the registry make kids any safer? Lenore Skenazy, the New York newspaper columnist famous for letting her 9-year-old son ride the subway alone and founding the “anti-helicopter parenting” movement, has found that offender maps have helped shape public perceptions of a society rife with child-snatching. That led her to other questions: Who gets on the list? Could you, or someone you love, wind up on the list? How about getting off it?Lenore Skenazy has spoken around the world on the costs of irrational fears of risk to young people and is the president of the new nonprofit dedicated to overthrowing overprotection, Let Grow.

Born into slavery in 1818, Frederick Douglass rose to become one of the nation’s foremost intellectuals—a statesman, author, lecturer, and scholar who helped lead the fight against slavery and racial oppression. But unlike some other prominent abolitionists, Douglass embraced the U.S. Constitution, insisting that it was essentially an anti-slavery document and that its guarantees for individual rights belonged to all Americans, of all races. Further, in his most popular lecture, “Self-Made Men,” Douglass spoke of people who rise through their own efforts and devotion rather than through circumstances of privilege. As the nation pauses to remember him on his bicentennial, Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man takes a fresh look at his remarkable life and ideas and the enduring principles of equality and liberty. Weaving together history, politics, and philosophy, this new biography illuminates Douglass’s immense scholarship with his personal experiences. Please join us as we discuss how Douglass’s legacy continues

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration exists to certify the safety and efficacy of medical technologies. Yet all too often, the FDA polices not drugs and medical devices, but speech. The agency prohibits many people from sharing truthful and non-misleading information about lawful uses of FDA-approved products. When the FDA restricts what people can say about drugs and medical devices, it violates the free-speech rights of patients and guarantees they will not learn about new treatments. Does protecting patients require the government to restrict speech? Even if the answer is yes, does the First Amendment even allow such a gag rule? Please join us as we explore these questions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It has long been believed that the education system must assimilate new and different groups into American society. Public school assimilation efforts, however, have often been wrenching for students and families, seemingly based on an assumption that some groups will refuse to assimilate or will even rebel against prevailing norms. This worry has animated opposition to school choice and may be particularly acute when it comes to Muslims, especially since 9/11. But are fears that Islamic schools may be failing to Americanize—or worse, are teaching things antithetical to American values—borne out in reality? This new book, incorporating national survey data on Islamic schools, in-depth interviews with Islamic school leaders, and more, begins to answer that question. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Education is important, and the more of it you and everyone else get, the better. More years in school, more college degrees, means a better economy, country, and world for everyone. Right? Wrong, argues Bryan Caplan in a brand new book that challenges almost all the understandable, powerful—but perhaps ultimately damaging—assumptions people make about education. We hope you’ll join us for a lively debate about this assault on education orthodoxy, and the premiere of this new book. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A year into President Trump’s term, what can we say about the Trump Doctrine? As a candidate, Trump promised dramatic changes for American foreign policy. As president, many would agree he has delivered on that promise. In just one year, Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and the Paris climate treaty, launched cruise missiles at Syria for using chemical weapons, increased American arms sales abroad, refused to certify Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, increased the number of American forces operating in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and rattled sabers on the Korean peninsula. How do these changes square with Trump’s call for an “America First” foreign policy? How does Trump’s operating style differ from that of previous presidents? Is America safer today than it was a year ago?From the Cato Conference: The Trump Doctrine at One Year See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A year into President Trump’s term, what can we say about the Trump Doctrine? As a candidate, Trump promised dramatic changes for American foreign policy. As president, many would agree he has delivered on that promise. In just one year, Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and the Paris climate treaty, launched cruise missiles at Syria for using chemical weapons, increased American arms sales abroad, refused to certify Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, increased the number of American forces operating in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and rattled sabers on the Korean peninsula. How do these changes square with Trump’s call for an “America First” foreign policy? How does Trump’s operating style differ from that of previous presidents? Is America safer today than it was a year ago?From the Cato Conference: The Trump Doctrine at One Year See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Like the country’s overall education discussion, the national school choice debate is far too often reduced to “which schools get better test scores” and maybe even “who gets kids to graduation.” But there is so much more to education than blunt academic outcome measures, including shaping character, transmitting culture, and just plain advancing freedom.In this special, National School Choice Week Facebook Live event, join the Cato Center for Educational Freedom crew to tackle these far deeper, arguably far more important goals and desires for education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Trade, tariffs, and America’s role in the global economy have taken center stage in the public policy debate during the first year of Donald Trump’s tumultuous presidency. That’s not surprising to economic historian and Dartmouth economics professor Douglas A. Irwin, whose latest treatise on the subject documents in exquisite detail how “the Tariff” has sparked passionate political, economic, and constitutional debate and has been a source of bitter political conflict from the Founding of the Republic to the present. Between 1787 and the Civil War, the main purpose of the tariff was to raise revenues for the operations of a modest federal government, which had few other sources of revenue. Although arguments for using the tariff to protect domestic industry prevailed on occasion during this era, it wasn’t until after the Civil War that bald protectionism became the tariff’s primary motive. In the early 1930s, as the disastrous effects of the Tariff Act of 1930 (i.e., “Smoot-Hawley” or “the Hawley-Smoot T

For just one week every year, roughly 70,000 people from around the world come together in the Nevada desert to create Black Rock City, home to Burning Man, billed by its organizers as an “annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance.”Because cash exchanges and the barter system are largely banned in Black Rock City (Burning Man instead relies on something called the “gift economy”), Burning Man is often seen as an attack on conventional libertarian principles.However, as a voluntary community driven by freedom of association, self-governance, nonviolent dispute mediation, and emergent order, Burning Man is in many ways a quintessential example of the libertopian ideal.On Wednesday, January 24th, please join the Cato Institute for a robust conversation about what libertarians can learn from Burning Man — and how these lessons can be applied to policy and philosophy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Public corruption is the silent killer of our economy. We’ve spawned the thickest network of patronage and influence ever seen in any country, a crony capitalism in which business partners with government and transfers wealth from the poor to the rich. This is a betrayal of the Framers’ vision for America, and of the Constitution they saw as an anti corruption covenant. This state of affairs repels many Americans, a response that explains the otherwise improbable rises of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. But what can be done to counter corruption? Congress has passed two major campaign finance laws in recent decades and established a government office of ethics. Both have serious flaws and hardly seem equal to the task. Are there other possibilities? Join us for an insightful examination of American government today and its prospects for the future. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The second session of the 115th Congress is underway, and congressional leaders have to address a number of wide-ranging and contentious issues before the midterm campaign and election season begins.Among those, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program expires early in March, and whatever happens in the short term will still leave reform opportunities for policies that satisfy both the security and labor needs of the country and that ensure the just and equitable treatment of noncitizen residents. Also, by the end of September, America’s agricultural agenda will need to be codified as components of the “farm bill” are again up for reauthorization. An opportunity here involves the United States Department of Agriculture’s sugar program, which contributes to problematic effects for American consumers as well as having knotty international trade implications. Furthermore, from the White House come promises both to tackle “welfare reform”—the contours of which have not been outlined by the president or

Since Colorado became the first state to allow for the sale of recreational marijuana, United States drug policy has been on shaky and unpredictable ground. Just this month U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has thrown out Obama-era guidance to protect businesses and individuals in states that have legalized cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. Now that federal prosecutors have additional discretion, what's next for the feds' reinvigorated war on pot?Join us for a live discussion about federalism and drug laws. Send your questions via Twitter with "#CatoConnects."This is an online only event. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Governments across the globe have begun evolving from lumbering bureaucracies into smaller, more agile special jurisdictions. Private providers increasingly deliver services that political authorities formerly monopolized, inspiring greater competition and efficiency. In Your Next Government?: From the Nation State to Stateless Nations, Tom W. Bell, professor at Chapman University’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law, shows how these trends suggest that new networks of special jurisdictions will soon surpass nation-states in the same way that networked computers replaced mainframes. This quiet revolution is transforming governments from the bottom up, inside out, worldwide, with the potential to bring more freedom, peace, and prosperity to people everywhere.Join us for a conversation with author Professor Bell, hosted by Aaron Powell and Trevor Burrus of Libertarianism.org’s Free Thoughts podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Robin Hanson and Kevin Simler have written a book about the hidden motives in all of us: quite often, our brains get up to activities that we know little or nothing about. This isn’t just a question of regulating hormone levels or involuntary reflexes. Many of these involuntary behaviors are social signals, such as laughter or tears. Involuntary motives appear to underlie many forms of human sociability, including family formation, art, religion, and recreation. What are the implications for public policy? How can we understand politics and governance better in light of our hidden motives? Our discussion of The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life will focus on just these questions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With the Federal Reserve likely to raise interest rates at this week’s FOMC meeting, another step will have been taken in the Fed’s “Normalization” plan. The Fed will, however, enter 2018 facing many more issues: the continued unwinding of response measures taken during the Financial Crisis and the high levels of turnover in the Federal Reserve system. Federal Reserve Chair nominee Jerome Powell awaits a confirmation vote and searches continue for other key positions. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation on the role of the Fed and send your questions via Twitter using the hashtag #CatoConnects and via Facebook Live.This is an online only event. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From front-page news stories featuring transcripts of wiretapped campaign officials to dramatic cyberattacks using hacking tools stolen from the National Security Agency, intelligence and surveillance issues have saturated the news in 2017. Yet there were also plenty of important surveillance stories that didn't get the exposure they deserved: the ongoing debate over reauthorizing the NSA's controversial section 702 spying authority, set to expire at year's end; the Supreme Court's pending consideration of Carpenter v. United States, which could radically alter the contours of Fourth Amendment law; law enforcement's growing reliance on sophisticated data mining to attempt to identify criminals or terrorists before they act. The Cato Institute's annual surveillance conference will gather prominent experts, policymakers, technologists, and civil society advocates to explore these issues and more—and debate how much monitoring we should accept in a society that aspires to be both safe and free. See acast.c

From front-page news stories featuring transcripts of wiretapped campaign officials to dramatic cyberattacks using hacking tools stolen from the National Security Agency, intelligence and surveillance issues have saturated the news in 2017. Yet there were also plenty of important surveillance stories that didn't get the exposure they deserved: the ongoing debate over reauthorizing the NSA's controversial section 702 spying authority, set to expire at year's end; the Supreme Court's pending consideration of Carpenter v. United States, which could radically alter the contours of Fourth Amendment law; law enforcement's growing reliance on sophisticated data mining to attempt to identify criminals or terrorists before they act. The Cato Institute's annual surveillance conference will gather prominent experts, policymakers, technologists, and civil society advocates to explore these issues and more—and debate how much monitoring we should accept in a society that aspires to be both safe and free. See acast.c

From front-page news stories featuring transcripts of wiretapped campaign officials to dramatic cyberattacks using hacking tools stolen from the National Security Agency, intelligence and surveillance issues have saturated the news in 2017. Yet there were also plenty of important surveillance stories that didn't get the exposure they deserved: the ongoing debate over reauthorizing the NSA's controversial section 702 spying authority, set to expire at year's end; the Supreme Court's pending consideration of Carpenter v. United States, which could radically alter the contours of Fourth Amendment law; law enforcement's growing reliance on sophisticated data mining to attempt to identify criminals or terrorists before they act. The Cato Institute's annual surveillance conference will gather prominent experts, policymakers, technologists, and civil society advocates to explore these issues and more — and debate how much monitoring we should accept in a society that aspires to be both safe and free. See acast