Cato Event Podcast

America’s Founders placed freedom of speech at the head of the Bill of Rights, yet we still struggle to protect it. In fact, it was not until the 20th century that our courts began to develop a systematic jurisprudence against attacks on speech. In recent years, however, ill-defined “hate speech” has been a particular target—especially on the nation’s campuses, where one would expect speech to enjoy the greatest protection. In her closely argued new book, Nadine Strossen has given us a powerful and incisive defense of even the speech that most offends, carefully distinguishing what should and should not be protected. Her mission, she writes, is to refute the argument that the United States should follow the lead of many other nations and adopt a broad concept of illegal hate speech. In the process, she demonstrates not only that doing so would violate our fundamental principles, but also that it would do more harm than good. Please join us for point and counterpoint on one of the most pressing free speech issues of our day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Iraq, U.S. soldiers often encounter ISIS fighters armed with American-made weapons. Intentionally sold to the corrupt, poorly-trained, ill-disciplined Iraqi military by previous U.S. administrations, many of these weapons have now fallen into the hands of terrorists. Far from an isolated incident, this example underscores the unintended—and often dangerous—consequences of international arms sales.The Trump administration has embraced arms sales, and at such a fever pitch that it is difficult to determine which sales will come with serious consequences that risk American lives. To help policymakers evaluate the possible downstream effects of selling weapons to specific countries, Cato scholars Trevor Thrall and Caroline Dorminey have created a comprehensive risk assessment index. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The school choice debate has largely focused on whether society should have any school choice at all. But not all choice programs are identical. And they certainly do not all produce the same outcomes for students. If school choice policies are to pass, what should they look like? Should we embrace public charter schools, private school choice options, or both? Should financing be through vouchers, tax credits, or education savings accounts? Should funding be public or private? Should the federal government be involved? What types of program regulations promote—or stifle—success? And what does the evidence say about these topics? Join a panel of experts as they tackle these critical policy questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After three decades of constant gains, global respect for free speech has been in decline since 2004. In the recent past even Europe’s liberal democracies have contributed to the decline by adopting increasingly restrictive measures in the name of national security, the countering of hate speech, and, most recently, standing against “fake news.” Does Europe’s model of “militant democracy” offer promising lessons for embattled democracies or a dangerous abandonment of first principles? Should the United States follow the European lead or remain true to its exceptional protection for extreme and disturbing speech? Please join us for a candid and intriguing discussion of issues that have once again put freedom of speech on the agenda of developed nations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his new book, Republic in Peril, David C. Hendrickson advances a critique of American policy since the end of the Cold War. America’s outsized military spending and global commitments, he argues, undermine rather than uphold international order. They raise rather than reduce the danger of war, imperiling both American security and domestic liberty. An alternative path lies in a new internationalism in tune with the United Nations Charter and the philosophy of republican liberty embraced by America’s Founders. Please join us for a lively discussion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us for a special private screening of the motion picture Little Pink House. The event includes a Q&A session with Susette Kelo, the real-life plaintiff in the infamous U.S. Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London, along with the film’s director and writer, Courtney Moorehead Balaker, and producer, Ted Balaker, and Institute for Justice President Scott Bullock, who argued Kelo’s case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Little Pink House has been lauded by the Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, and John Stossel, among others. It stars two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener and Emmy nominee Jeanne Tripplehorn, and it features the original song “Home Free,” written and performed for the movie by rock legend David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash.The movie showcases the true story of Susette Kelo, a small-town paramedic who buys her first home — a cottage — and paints it pink. When politicians plan to bulldoze it for a corporation, she fights back, taking her case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Even after she lost in court, her struggle sparked a nationwide backlash against eminent domain abuse that today helps millions of Americans better protect what is rightfully theirs.11:30AM – NoonRegistration and sandwichesNoonPrivate film screening 1:40PMQ&A with lunch and dessert to followDuration of the film is 99 minutes. For more information on the film, visit www.LittlePinkHouseMovie.com.This film screening will not be live streamed online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Free speech is under attack at colleges and universities today, with critics on and off campus challenging the value of open inquiry and freewheeling intellectual debate. Too often speakers are shouted down, professors are threatened, and classes are disrupted. Constitutional scholar Keith E. Whittington argues that universities must protect and encourage free speech because vigorous free speech is the lifeblood of the university. Without free speech, a university cannot fulfill its most basic, fundamental, and essential purposes, including to foster freedom of thought, ideological diversity, and tolerance. Examining such hot-button issues as trigger warnings, safe spaces, hate speech, disruptive protests, speaker disinvitations, the use of social media by faculty, and academic politics, Speak Freely describes the dangers of empowering campus censors to limit speech and enforce orthodoxy. It explains why free speech and civil discourse are at the heart of the university’s mission of creating and nurturing an open and diverse community dedicated to learning. It shows why universities must make space for voices from both the left and right. And it points out how a better understanding of why the university lives or dies by free speech can help guide everyone—including students, faculty, administrators, and alumni—faced with difficult challenges such as unpopular, hateful, or dangerous speech.Timely and vitally important, Speak Freely demonstrates why universities can succeed only by fostering more free speech, more free thought—and a greater tolerance for both. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his new book, Directorate S, author Steve Coll explains how Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is partly responsible for the United States’ struggles in neighboring Afghanistan. Coll, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, sheds light on Pakistan’s policy of aiding, supplying, and legitimizing the Taliban, a policy President Trump has openly criticized. With an investigator’s precision, Coll also walks readers through the mistakes and misjudgments that have resulted in approximately 140,000 Afghan deaths, along with American casualties in the thousands, and war costs as high as $2 trillion. At the center of the discussion will be the tumultuous U.S.–Pakistan relationship, which continues to define the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Please join us for a lively discussion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congress has not overhauled America’s legal immigration system in nearly three decades. While legal immigrants overwhelmingly benefit the United States, the system is unfair to those who go through it, and its arbitrary and outdated rules undermine the economic and social benefits that legal immigrants contribute to America. With Congress now in the midst of a wide-ranging debate over which reforms to adopt, innovative approaches will be critical to pushing reform across the finish line. Join us as our speakers draw on the best aspects of immigration systems around the world to present new ideas to improve America’s system for the 21st century and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What principles inform the U.S. Constitution? How have they been systematically subverted? And — what can Americans do to restore the integral order of the American constitutional order?From Cato University 2018: College of Law Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.