Cato Event Podcast

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included a requirement that Medicare-participating providers use electronic health records by January 1, 2014, or face financial penalties. Passed and signed into law just four weeks after the inauguration of President Obama, this expensive requirement, which had almost no public debate, forced hospitals, doctors, and clinics to move confidential patient information into digital format.Twila Brase, author of the 2018 book Big Brother in the Exam Room: The Dangerous Truth about Electronic Health Records, says the electronic health record (EHR) is not what patients think it is. It interferes with patient care, is being used to violate patient rights, it makes sensitive data vulnerable to hackers, and it is threatening patient safety and medical excellence. She claims that what the government calls privacy rules are actually data-sharing rules. Furthermore, standardized treatment protocols and burdensome data-entry requirements are causing physician burnout and physician exodus from the practice of medicine. Government-mandated EHRs are an untested experiment that gives government and other self-interested parties outside the exam room significant control over private medical decisions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Almost 50 years after his death, the legacy of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover remains very much alive, according to 16-year FBI veteran Michael German in his new book, Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Democracy. Just as Hoover exploited fears of communist infiltration of American institutions, his successors at the FBI in the post-9/11 era have exploited fears of Salafist terrorism to “shed the legal constraints” imposed on the bureau in the wake of Hoover-era civil rights abuses. Does Congress have the will to rein in the FBI? How should political activists respond to these increased threats to their constitutional rights?Join us as an expert panel talks with German about his book on FBI domestic surveillance and disruption activities in the era of endless war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reforming the immigration visa system is crucial for the future of the United States. In late 2019, Rep. John Curtis (R‑UT), supported by Gov. Gary Herbert, introduced a bill to create a state‐​based visa system. Curtis’s proposal adopts a major component of the Canadian immigration system: visas sponsored by individual states rather than the federal government. Under the legislation, the federal government maintains control over admissions, security checks, and other necessary criteria, while the state governments gain power to select individual migrants and regulate their activity within the state. Each state would get an average of 10,000 visas a year: 5,000 guaranteed for each state and an additional number assigned based on population.With the partisan gridlock that has characterized Washington politics for at least the past two decades, can and should states lead the way on immigration by utilizing a state‐​based visa system? Join the Cato Institute’s Alex Nowrasteh for a panel discussion with Representative Curtis and Governor Herbert for a policy deep dive on how state‐​based visas can reform our nation’s broken immigration system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A scholarly debate has emerged over trends in global conflict and the future of warfare. Is the international system becoming more peaceful, or is it just as violent and war-prone as it always has been? Is great-power war a thing of the past, or has it merely been dormant under changing technological and institutional conditions? Crafting an appropriate U.S. foreign policy is dependent on accurately measuring the state of war and peace in the world. Please join us for a discussion of these vital issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scientists and citizens often focus on the dark side of our biological heritage, such as our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self‐​interest. But natural selection has also given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and teaching.Beneath all our inventions—our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations—we carry with us innate proclivities to make such a good society. Indeed, our genes affect not only our bodies and behaviors, but also the ways in which we make societies, and therefore ones that are surprisingly similar worldwide.Using many wide‐​ranging examples— including diverse historical and contemporary cultures, communities formed in the wake of shipwrecks, commune dwellers seeking utopia, online groups of both people and artificially intelligent bots, and even the tender and complex social arrangements of elephants and dolphins that so resemble our own—Christakis demonstrates that, despite a human history replete with violence, we cannot escape our social blueprint for goodness.In a world of increasing political and economic polarization, it’s tempting to ignore the positive role of our evolutionary past. But Christakis shows how and why evolution has placed us on a humane path—and how we are united by our common humanity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even before Donald Trump’s election, foreign policy thinkers were beginning to realize that American grand strategy had to change. After more than 15 years of war in Afghanistan and the Middle East, Americans’ enthusiasm for foreign adventures had expired and many believed that public support for traditional American leadership of the liberal international order had expired along with it. The big question was: What would come next?During the third year of the Trump administration, the 2020 Democratic candidates have offered a range of arguments about what’s wrong with U.S. foreign policy today and where it should be headed. Some of these hew fairly close to the traditional, pre‐​Trump approach, while others represent more significant departures from the status quo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Needle exchange programs are a proven means of reducing the spread of HIV and hepatitis among intravenous drug users. They are endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the surgeon general of the United States, the World Health Organization, the American Public Health Association, and the American Medical Association. Nevertheless, needle exchange programs are legally permitted to operate in only 30 states and the District of Columbia. Drug paraphernalia laws make them illegal elsewhere.Critics of needle exchange programs claim they “enable” or “endorse” illicit drug use. “Not-in-my-backyard” attitudes fuel opposition in local communities. Experts will discuss the efficacy and role of this harm-reduction strategy as well as the political challenges to its widespread adoption. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.