Cato Event Podcast

One of the fundamental historical arguments for traditional public schooling is that compulsory common schools are necessary for a stable democratic society. Horace Mann, the father of American public schooling, argued that common schools would force children from diverse backgrounds, religions, and races to interact with one another and receive instruction on proper virtues. Other people, however, believe that allowing parents to choose the schools they think best for their children could improve essential democratic outcomes by forcing schools to compete and to teach more effectively. Which system is best to strengthen tolerance and civic engagement in our society? Which theories have the most merit? What does the scientific evidence say? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas Jefferson famously wrote that the earth belongs to the living. His letter to James Madison is often quoted for the proposition that we should not be bound to the “dead hand of the past,” suggesting that the Constitution should instead be interpreted as a living, breathing document. Less well known is Madison’s response, in which he said that the Constitution forms a debt against the living, who take the benefit of it. This debt, Madison claimed, could only be discharged by a kind of originalism. Who is right? Thomas Jefferson or James Madison? Please join us for a conversation with Ilan Wurman, author of the forthcoming book A Debt Against the Living: An Introduction to Originalism, to discuss this and many other questions. Stanford law professor and former federal judge Michael W. McConnell has described the book as the first “to explain to the ordinary citizen—free from what the late Justice Antonin Scalia called ‘jiggery pokery’—what it means to understand the Constitution as enduring law rather than politics by a different name.” All are welcome, but interns, law students, and potential law students may be particularly interested.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One basis of modern medicine is that low doses of many chemicals are beneficial, while higher ones are toxic. And yet a great disparity has evolved with the regulation of many entities — including carcinogens, ionizing radiation, and toxics. Their regulation is based on the notion that that a single molecule or photon is as capable of inducing cancer as the billionth one. How has this disparity happened — with low, beneficial doses being treated and regulated the same way as higher ones? What is correct?One highly compelling look at this subject has emerged from Dr. Edward Calabrese’s painstaking and voluminous research. Using recently declassified Atomic Energy Commission documents, Calabrese details the establishment of the linear no-threshold model at the height of the Cold War, when thermonuclear bombs were routinely detonated in the atmosphere, resulting in radioactive fallout. His is a spellbinding story of what is often called “noble cause corruption” of science, and of how difficult it is to correct when backed by the might of the federal government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Political communication can be described as the use of three separate “languages”: progressive, conservative and libertarian. Each serves to reinforce the validity of the positions of its constituent members while at the same time maligning the views of their opponents.By identifying and understanding the language that each group employs, we can discuss politics while minimizing miscommunication, break down barriers to real connection, and create space for a less fractious exchange of ideas.Join us for a timely introduction to Kling’s new and updated version of this modern classic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ayn Rand’s first novel, We the Living, is a captivating story set in 1920s Russia about students trapped in a communist state. As Rand said, “We the Living is not a story about Soviet Russia in 1925. It is a story about Dictatorship, any dictatorship, anywhere, at any time.” With new authoritarian challenges to liberal democracy arising throughout the Western world, its ideas are as timely as ever. The theatrical company Austin Shakespeare will present a staged reading from The Unconquered, Rand’s play from the book edited by Robert Mayhew. A panel discussion on its themes of individualism, authoritarianism, and threats to liberty will follow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Discrimination” has a terrible connotation — excluding or treating people differently for ultimately superficial reasons — and fear that choice programs would allow schools to discriminate in admissions has been widespread. But is “discrimination” always and inescapably wrong? Could it reflect a school’s capabilities or sense of mission? Join us for a very open discussion — including opinions from the audience — of this highly sensitive issue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to a recent New York Times analysis, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under age 50. Driving this trend, which shows no sign of abatement, is a surge in opioid-related overdoses. These types of deaths have occurred with such frequency that Maryland, Florida, and now Arizona, have declared medical states of emergencyWhat to do? Solutions range from requiring more federal intervention in the practice of medicine, increasing punishing actions on heroin production in Central America and Afghanistan, and enhancing domestic law enforcement efforts to crack down on street-corner dealers and their supply networks. Other ideas involve an increase in public education, medical intervention, and monitoring, as well as deregulation and legalization.Join us for a clarifying examination of the issues and learn what Congress should and should not do to remedy the situation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Democracy Fund Voter Study Group, a new research collaboration of nearly two dozen analysts and scholars from across the political spectrum, recently released new data and analysis exploring voter perceptions before and after the 2016 election.During the intense political division of the 2016 presidential campaign, the Voter Study Group began collaborating across ideological lines to examine the underlying values and opinions that influence voter decision-making. The expert group commissioned a new survey of 8,000 adults who had participated in similar surveys in mid-2016, 2011, and 2012. This unique longitudinal data set provides the basis for four new reports analyzing many of the most hotly-debated subjects of the presidential election, including economic stress, trade, race, immigration, and the evolution of the parties. During this special #CatoConnects experts who participated in this Democracy Fund project will be providing analysis and results from this study.The Cato Institute’s Emily Ekins, a member of the study group, created a “typology” of Trump voters finding five unique groups: American Preservationists (20%), Staunch Conservatives (31%), Anti-Elites (19%), Free Marketeers (25%), and the Disengaged (5%). Despite media narratives seeking out a single explanation of the Trump vote, these results indicate there is no such thing as “one kind of Trump voter” who voted for him for one single reason. Rob Griffin, another member of the study group, also finds that long-term economic stress combined with anxieties over immigration and cultural concerns, profoundly shaped the 2016 election. Ekins will discuss this and her findings that have several implications from the libertarian perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following stunning losses by the once hegemonic African National Congress in 2016 local elections, Herman Mashaba, a successful businessman and politician from the opposition Democratic Alliance, became mayor of Johannesburg—South Africa’s economic powerhouse. Over the course of last year, Mashaba started to tackle widespread corruption as well as failing delivery of public services in the city. In addition to speaking about the state of Johannesburg, Mashaba will offer his thoughts on economic stagnation and the potentially explosive political situation in the country. Princeton Lyman, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa at the time of the transfer of power from white minority to black majority, will discuss America’s original hopes for a new South Africa and the extent to which America’s expectations have been left unfulfilled. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While there is an ongoing debate about what caused the 2008 financial crisis, there is little disagreement that the housing market was at the heart of the problem. In the years since the crisis, Congress passed a massive new piece of legislation, the Dodd-Frank Act, and federal financial regulators have been actively issuing new regulations. But what about the government-sponsored housing enterprises, known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? What was their role in the crisis, and what has been done to reduce their potential harm in the future? Join us as we discuss these questions with experts from the policy world and the industry itself. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.