Cato Event Podcast

Please join us for a thought‐​provoking evening with author and award‐​winning investigative reporter Matt Taibbi. Matt will discuss government suppression of speech, the significance of First Amendment principles, and why a free press is needed to preserve our democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Health care in the United States is not a free market. In many ways, U.S. residents are less free to make their own health decisions than residents of other nations. State and federal governments subsidize low‐​quality medical care and penalize high‐​quality care. They block innovations that would otherwise reduce medical prices. The harms are so wide‐​reaching, the way Congress funds veterans benefits even increases the likelihood of war. In his new book Recovery: A Guide to Reforming the U.S. Health Sector, Michael Cannon exposes the barriers that government places in the way of better, more affordable, and more secure health care. Recovery explores how making health care as universal as possible requires dismantling these obstacles. Please join us for a discussion with the author and a panel of experts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are states rational? Much of international relations theory assumes that they are. But many scholars believe that political leaders rarely act rationally. John J. Mearsheimer will argue that rational decisions in international politics rest on credible theories about how the world works and emerge from deliberative decisionmaking processes. Using these criteria, he will describe how most states are rational most of the time, even if they are not always successful, and will discuss implications for formulating foreign policy. Join Mearsheimer and Ashley Tellis, a scholar with extensive policy experience, for a discussion of whether states behave rationally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no question that certain places, at certain times in history, have contributed disproportionately toward making the world a better place. In this book forum, Chelsea Follett will discuss her debut book that tells the story of 40 of those places, ranging in diversity from ancient Athens to Song‐​era Hangzhou to post–World War II New York. She will note some common themes that have emerged, including that most cities reach their creative peak during periods of peace, tend to be highly populated, and thrive during times of social, intellectual, and economic freedom, as well as openness to intercultural exchange. Noting that change is a constant, but progress is not, she suggests in her book that studying the past can teach us about fostering innovation in the present. Jack Goldstone will provide insights into the historical causes of progress and prosperity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Globalization has come under fire over the past two decades as the world has lived through an international financial crisis, terrorist attacks, a pandemic, and the return of war in Europe. Johan Norberg will explain why, despite such turmoil, the free market has still made the past 20 years the best time in human history by almost any measure of well‐​being. He will discuss why trade protectionism, industrial policy, and other proposals from the left and the right are mistakes that should not be repeated. The market, a system based on cooperation and exchange, still offers the best way to address and think about current issues, including the rise of China, the role of Big Tech, and inequality. Chris Griswold will provide a critique of markets from a conservative perspective and suggest policies to limit globalization. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American national security state—and its accumulated millions of pages of classified records—has become a fixture of our political, social, and cultural life. Yet prior to World War I, the United States had no systematized government classification system, and its actual defense and foreign policy–related secrets were few. That changed with the United States’ entry into World War I, when through legislation and regulatory policy, the Wilson administration created the forerunners of the modern U.S. intelligence community. The secret electronic and human surveillance techniques and processes that started under President Woodrow Wilson mushroomed in scale during and after World War II.Defenders of the current secrecy system claim it is vital to the safety of Americans at home and abroad. But what does the actual history of the past 100 years show? Have the FBI, CIA, NSA, and other federal agencies and departments truly used secrecy to protect us or instead to keep knowledge of their own misdeeds from us, or both? How many classified documents are there, and does anybody really know? How much of our own history is being kept from us, and how much of it is likely to ever see the light of day? Join us as our expert panel delves into these and related issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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

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

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