Podcast
Cato Podcast
Hosted by Cato Institute · EN
Each week on Cato Podcast, leading scholars and policymakers from the Cato Institute delve into the big ideas shaping our world: individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Whether unpacking current events, debating civil liberties, exploring technological innovation, or tracing the history of classical liberal thought, we promise insightful analysis grounded in rigorous research and Cato’s signature libertarian perspective.
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68episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why Globalization Wins on the Field
Feb 1000:38:31Tap to summarizeCato’s Scott Lincicome sits down with Washington Post editorial writer Dominic Pino to explore what professional sports reveal about trade, immigration, and competition. From a talent-filled, globe-spanning World Series to the NHL’s influx of Soviet and Russian players, they show how “imports” raise quality, delight consumers, and expose the contradictions in protectionist thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Protest, Carry, Die: Rights in Conflict
Feb 500:39:47Tap to summarizeAs debates over gun rights intensify, recent shootings in Minnesota reveal how quickly constitutional protections can unravel in practice. Cato's Clark Neily and Matthew Cavedon discuss the dangers of treating firearms as intrinsic hazards, the hypocrisy of selective Second Amendment support, and why protecting unpopular speakers and armed protesters is essential to preserving civil liberties for everyone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Reforming the Federal Reserve, Brick by Brick
Feb 300:27:58Tap to summarizeFor more than a century, the Federal Reserve has accumulated responsibilities far beyond monetary policy, from bank regulation to payments and emergency lending. The Cato Institute's Nick Anthony, Norbert Michel, and Jai Kedia break down what the Fed actually controls, what it does not, and why inflation, debt, and financial instability cannot be fixed by interest-rate tweaks alone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Why Propping Up Maduro’s Allies Won’t Save Venezuela
Jan 2900:29:47Tap to summarizeAfter more than two decades of socialist rule, Venezuela faces a rare opportunity for democratic transition following Maduro’s removal. Ian Vásquez and Marcos Falcone trace the regime’s record of repression and economic collapse, explain why regime insiders cannot credibly deliver reform, and make the case for immediate engagement with María Corina Machado and the opposition that overwhelmingly won the 2024 election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Atomic Economics
Aug 5, 2025Tap to summarizePeter Van Doren and David Kemp bring libertarian skepticism to the bipartisan political support for nuclear power. They analyze why regulatory reform alone may not solve nuclear's economic problems and discuss how recent U.S. projects have failed to deliver on promises of cost-effectiveness even after a supposed "renaissance" in the late 2000s. They finish up with a discussion on whether small modular reactors (SMRs) are the nuclear silver bullet.Show Notes:Peter Van Doren and David Kemp, Nuclear Power in the Context of Climate Change, Cato Institute Working Paper, April 27, 2023. https://www.cato.org/working-paper/nuclear-power-context-climate-change.David Kemp and Peter Van Doren, "Would a Carbon Tax Rejuvenate Nuclear Energy?" Regulation 45, no. 3 (Fall 2022). https://www.cato.org/regulation/fall-2022/would-carbon-tax-rejuvenate-nuclear-energy.David Kemp, "Nuclear Power’s Newest Cautionary Tale," Cato at Liberty (blog), January 23, 2024. https://www.cato.org/blog/nuclear-powers-newest-cautionary-tale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →America's Birth Certificate in Context
Jul 4, 2024Tap to summarizeThe Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in human history. Cato's Roger Pilon details the philosophical underpinning of America's Birth Certificate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Supreme Court Ponders Federal Agencies That Act Like Courts
Dec 9, 2023Tap to summarizeThe Supreme Court recently heard the case of Securities and Exchange Commission vs. Jarkesy. Cato's Tommy Berry and the Pacific Legal Foundation's Oliver Dunford evaluate what the court heard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Ideker Farms v. United States and What Makes a Taking
Feb 11, 2022Tap to summarizeUnder the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, the federal and state governments must pay “just compensation” for taking private property for public use. Sam Spiegelman discusses Ideker Farms v. United States. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Helicopter Money and Federal Reserve Performance in a Pandemic Recession
Oct 22, 2020Tap to summarizeHelicopter money – money dropped on various recipients by the Federal Reserve with no expectation of repayment – sounds like a great way to lever-up the economy. Is it? George Selgin details his new Pandemics and Policy essay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Taking It to Trial, Writ Large
Mar 14, 2012Tap to summarizeHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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