Cato Event Podcast

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In the 12 years since the creation of the TSA it has become clear that the federal takeover of airport security was a mistake. Cato scholar Chris Edwards writes in an upcoming paper that TSA operations should be privatized and passenger and baggage screening "moved to the control of airports and opened to competitive bidding." In a recent New York Times article, EPIC administrative law counsel Khaliah Barnes highlighted that the TSA deploys Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) squads to perform random sweeps of individuals outside of airports and argues that these practices are problematic because they are devoid of true legal standards like probable cause. Also in response to the growing use of VIPR squads, Congressman Scott Garrett (R-NJ) introduced the Freedom of Travel Act, which denies the TSA the authority to conduct random searches of surface transportation travelers. Join us for a discussion about restructuring airport screening to improve security, increase efficiency, and reduce civil l

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For many fields of science, there is little doubt that the period 1830-1965 was a golden age. There is also little doubt that changes in the support structure for science since the late 60's have powerful elements that serve to inhibit major developments. Dr. Lindzen will discuss these changes from the personal perspective of a climate scientist, and place them in the historical perspective of other areas of study.Quantification of the effects of the support structure is complicated. There are a multiplicity of factors involved, including the existence of branches of science that are closely associated with political and social agendas. Changes in the character of major research centers, including the federalization of major research universities, also plays a major role, independent of the particular area of science. Serious studies of marginal factors such as diminishing returns as funding increases are sorely lacking. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In many fields of science, there is little doubt that the period 1830-1965 was a golden age. There is also little doubt that changes in the support structure for science since the late 60s have powerful unintended consequences that serve to inhibit major developments. Richard Lindzen will discuss these changes from the personal perspective of a climate scientist and place them in the historical perspective of other areas of study.Specifically, Lindzen will explore how the symbiotic relationship between support for climate science and support for climate policy has been powered by the political process. Has this happened before at the technical-policy interface for other issues in other nations? Are we witnessing the rise of yet another instance of "public policy [becoming] a captive of a scientific-technological elite," as predicted by President Eisenhower in his 1961 farewell address? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What is the extent of improvements in human well-being and what challenges lie ahead? That will be the topic of conversation between two distinguished journalists, Robert Samuelson of the Washington Post and Ronald Bailey of Reason magazine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Robert Zoellick will discuss the importance of Open Data and HumanProgress.org as a research tool in economic development and human progress. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Please join us as Marian L. Tupy and Marc Garrett introduce HumanProgress.org—a comprehensive new research tool that will allow users to: Explore human development indicators from a variety of sourcesCompare different indicators with one anotherCreate and share graphics in a visually compelling wayCalculate differences in human well-being between different countries over time See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The sluggish recovery from the Great Recession raises a troubling question: is this the new normal? Tyler Cowen launched an ongoing debate of that question with The Great Stagnation, in which he argued that the "low-hanging fruit" of growth has already been picked. In a new Cato paper entitled "Why Growth Is Getting Harder," Brink Lindsey offers an analysis that differs from Cowen's but shares his conclusion that slow growth will be hard to avoid in the coming years. Martin Baily, one of the world's leading experts on productivity, is optimistic about the future of innovation but cautions that other factors can hold growth back. Please join these experts for a stimulating discussion of a vitally important issue. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To what extent does disorder threaten the global economic system, and must the United States prevent piracy, international crime, and general lawlessness in order to maintain our relative prosperity? Does uncertain access to sources of energy pose a threat to U.S. and global prosperity? The leading advocates of U.S. global primacy contend that trade has expanded because the United States provides a global public good of security within the commons, and that such trade would slow or contract if the United States were to reduce its global policing function. Does global order depend upon a single power enforcing the rules of the game, and is the United States capable of playing this role indefinitely? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Beyond traditional threats to security such as wars and terrorism, fears have arisen in response to supposed new, but less visible, dangers. These include cybersecurity and cyberwar, potential problems derived from climate change, and issues of uncertainty, economic stagnation, and complexity. How do we assess these purported threats? Should we fear general instability and anarchy, which are persistent features of the international system? Can we do anything about them? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With a lack of credible state rivals since the end of the Cold War, security studies scholars and policy analysts in the United States have increasingly turned their attention to sub-state threats: insurgents, terrorists, criminal networks, and increasingly civil war, or the absence of authority itself. What have we learned of late about the sort of danger these troubles pose to the United States itself? To what extent should we fix, manage, or live with the lack of authority that lets these problems grow? Is disorder abroad a growing problem? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Historically, states have posed the greatest threats to international security, especially through wars that have caused massive death and destruction. Is that still the case? What sort of security threat does China’s growing power pose to the United States? Another fear is that of nuclear weapons “cascades,” or a “tipping point” beyond which a large number of states will acquire nuclear weapons. Is such a cascade likely? What danger would such a scenario pose to Americans? And finally, American alliances are justified on the basis of fears that current U.S. allies would engage in security competition or war with each other or with third parties in the absence of U.S. security guarantees. How likely would this result be, and what sort of threat would it pose to Americans? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1993, when Jonathan Rauch's landmark book Kindly Inquisitors was first published, the idea that minorities need special protection from discriminatory or demeaning speech was innovative. Today, it's standard operating procedure--routinely enforced by universities, employers, foreign governments, and even international treaties. In a newly expanded electronic edition of his book, Rauch, an openly gay advocate of same-sex marriage and of gay equality generally, argues that suppressing hateful speech does minorities more harm than good, and that the gay civil rights movement of the past two decades dramatically illustrates the point. Join us as the author explains why gays and other minorities are better off if government protects bigoted speech than if government protects them from it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The rise in economic freedom in countries across the globe in recent decades has led to greater prosperity and improvements in the well-being of hundreds of millions of people. Economic Freedom in Action: Changing Lives profiles inspiring entrepreneurs from some of those countries and shows how increased opportunity has allowed them to build better futures for themselves and their communities. Join us to see a segment of the documentary from the Free to Choose Network, which will air on public television this fall. Michael Walker, founder of the Fraser Institute and originator of its annual Economic Freedom of the World report upon which this film is based, will comment on the impact of the report. Film host Johan Norberg will discuss the transformative power of economic freedom. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.