Cato Podcast

FEMA was meant to help only when disasters exceeded state capacity. Yet today it functions primarily as a national subsidy machine, encouraging development in floodplains, bailing out wealthy coastal states, and shifting costs onto taxpayers far from the danger zones. The Cato Institute's Dominik Lett and Chris Edwards discuss how well-intentioned federal aid has created perverse incentives, bureaucratic delays, and a long tail of spending that continues decades after storms like Katrina. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Romina Boccia, Michael F. Cannon, and Adam Michel break down the 43-day government shutdown driven by demands to extend temporary Obamacare subsidies for upper-income households earning well into six figures. The trio examines how the stalemate exposed deeper structural problems: runaway entitlement growth, perverse state incentives, a fragile food stamp and air-traffic control system, and a federal budget process unable to handle partisan deadlock. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cato Institute's Justin Logan and Brandan P. Buck unpack the Trump administration’s shifting justifications for military action in Venezuela, from fentanyl and cocaine interdiction to Monroe Doctrine revivalism. They explore the legal and strategic risks of invoking war powers under dubious pretenses, warning that the push for regime change could repeat the mistakes of Libya and Iraq while doing little to solve the hemisphere’s drug or governance problems.Show Notes:https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dont-do-it-mr-president/https://www.theamericanconservative.com/when-peace-through-strength-means-war-is-peace/https://www.cato.org/commentary/us-military-cant-solve-fentanyl-crisis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can a president tax Americans at will under the guise of a national emergency? The Cato Institute's Scott Lincicome and Brent Skorup dissect the high-stakes Supreme Court battle over Trump’s “fentanyl tariffs,” the broadest assertion of trade power in modern U.S. history. They explore how the case could reshape executive authority, revive dormant constitutional doctrines, and determine whether Congress or the White House truly controls U.S. trade policy.Show Notes:https://www.cato.org/blog/emergency-tariff-refunds-theres-easy-way-very-hard-wayhttps://www.cato.org/blog/why-three-cato-trade-scholars-filed-amicus-brief-us-supreme-courthttps://www.cato.org/commentary/striking-down-tariffs-wont-hurt-anybodyhttps://www.cato.org/legal-briefs/trump-v-vos-selections-learning-resources-v-trump Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Romina Boccia joins Nicholas Anthony to discuss how the shutdown centers on demands to extend subsidies for earners making well above median household income—all the way up to $500,000 annually. Federal workers and SNAP recipients have been offered up as political collateral for a deal that would cause an unprecedented $1.5 trillion in additional deficit spending—all while we continue trucking toward a fiscal cliff.Show Notes:Romina Boccia and Tyler Turman, "Food Stamp Shutdown Reveals the Fragility of Federal Welfare," Cato at Liberty Blog, October 30, 2025Romina Boccia and Tyler Turman, "End Obamacare’s Welfare for the Wealthy COVID Credits," Cato at Liberty Blog, October 23, 2025Romina Boccia and Tyler Turman, "Welfare Digest | End the ACA Subsidies for the Well-Off," Debt Dispatch, October 22, 2025Romina Boccia and Ritvik Thakur, "Debt Digest | Remove Obamacare Regulations Instead of Extending COVID-era Credits," Debt Dispatch, October 14, 2025Romina Boccia, "Shutdown Theatrics Just Distract Us from the Real Problem: Obscene National Debt," New York Post, October 2, 2025Romina Boccia and Ritvik Thakur, "Debt Digest | Let Obamacare COVID Credits Expire," Debt Dispatch, October 2, 2025Romina Boccia, "Thoughts About the Government Shutdown," Cato at Liberty Blog, October 1, 2025Romina Boccia, Ritvik Thakur, and Ivane Nachkebia, "Debt Digest | Government Shutdown Is Likely," Debt Dispatch, September 8, 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For 60 years, the U.S. government has protected the steel industry through tariffs, quotas, and Buy American mandates. Yet steel costs remain among the highest globally, and protectionism has extracted a staggering price: $650,000 in economic damage for every steel job saved, and 75,000 manufacturing jobs lost in 2019 alone. Cato's Clark Packard and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon investigate why protectionism failed and what market-based solutions would actually work.Show Notes:https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/steeled-protectionism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

School choice isn’t just about choosing different schools—it’s about unbundling education itself and trying new things to get kids excited about learning. Cato scholars Neal McCluskey and Colleen Hroncich envision a future where adults educated through innovative institutions bring diverse perspectives to workplaces and communities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Both Republicans and Democrats pressure the Fed toward different agendas, revealing deeper institutional problems. Norbert Michel and Jai Kedia argue that broad discretion and an inflated view of the Fed's influence enable mission creep and capture regardless of who holds power. The solution? Congressional legislation establishing clear rules. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Travis Fisher and Jennifer Huddleston discuss how outdated energy policies created barriers to new generation just as AI data centers began demanding unprecedented amounts of power. They imagine a path forward using free market policies in both AI and electricity to create previously unimaginable levels of human flourishing and prosperity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump is taking a victory lap for brokering peace in Gaza—while simultaneously escalating the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine and launching airstrikes against suspected cartel boats. Our panel assesses Trump’s Nobel ambitions, celebrates this year’s actual Peace Prize winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.Justin Logan, "The Case for Withdrawing from the Middle East," Defense Priorities, September 2020.Ian Vasquez, “Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan Champion of Freedom, Wins the Nobel Peace Prize,” Cato at Liberty blog, October 10, 2025.Ian Vasquez and Marcos Falcone, “Liberty Versus Power in Milei’s Argentina,” Free Society, October, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to recent government data, immigration enforcement has become a much more dangerous job. David Bier and Patrick Eddington discuss the policy tradeoffs driving these numbers, previous administrations' efforts at mitigating mass immigration, and how to craft a more just, effective and safe immigration policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump’s new “Compact with Academia” aims to reshape higher ed using the leverage of federal funds. Our panel unpacks the constitutional risks of Washington’s latest salvo in the campus culture wars. Plus, shutdown week two: will the administration deliver on federal job cuts or is it Grim Reaper cosplay? Neal McCluskey, "Higher Ed Compact Is More of the Same, Worse," Cato at Liberty blog, October 7, 2025.Adam Michel, "Six Reasons to Not Extend the Enhanced Obamacare Subsidies," Cato at Liberty blog, October 7, 2025.Neal McCluskey, "Court Rightly Finds for Harvard Against Trump Administration," Cato at Liberty blog, September 4, 2025.Dominik Lett, "Revoking IEEPA Tariffs Will Not “Lead to Financial Ruin,”" Cato at Liberty blog, October 3, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robby Soave, senior editor at Reason and co-host of The Hill's Rising, join's Cato's Thomas A. Berry and David Inserra to discuss the state of free speech following the Charlie Kirk assassination and Jimmy Kimmel suspension. They examine how recent administrations have engaged in government jawboning to suppress speech and conclude that consistent First Amendment principles must prevail regardless of which party controls government power.Show Notes:https://www.cato.org/blog/kimmel-cancellation-dangerous-sign-free-speechhttps://www.cato.org/blog/americans-must-remain-committed-free-expression-after-assassination-charlie-kirk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The federal government shuts down as the Supreme Court returns. Our panel looks at the Trump team’s plan to use the shutdown for mass layoffs —and previews a new Supreme Court term packed with big fights over tariffs, emergency powers, and the future of “independent” agencies.Romina Boccia, "Thoughts About The Impending Government Shutdown," The Debt Dispatch, September 30, 2025.Jeffrey Miron, "Some Libertarians Cheer When Government Shuts Down: Here's Why They Shouldn't," Vox, January 21, 2018.Ryan Bourne, "The Libertarian Experiment That Isn't," Cato at Liberty blog, January 11, 2019.Thomas A. Berry, Brent Skorup, and Charles Brandt, "Learning Resources v. Trump," Cato Amicus Brief, July 30, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will congressional inaction lead to a government shut down? Do shutdowns halt the government in its tracks, and if not, who decides what stays and what goes? What does it mean for President Trump -- or the rest of us? Cato's VP for Government Affairs, Chad Davis, in conversation with Patrick Eddington, senior fellow in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute.Correction: The 35-day shutdown in late 2018 into early 2019 was over Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a border wall. The shutdown over Dreamers was three days in January 2018. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FCC chair Brendan Carr’s “easy way or hard way” threat to TV broadcasters lit a censorship firestorm this week. Our Cato panel digs into the government's jawboning, broadcast licensees' “junior-varsity” First Amendment rights, and whether it’s time to scrap the FCC altogether. Plus, the latest on AI regulation and the art of the TikTok deal.Brent Skorup, "Jimmy Kimmel, the FCC, and Why Broadcasters Still Have “Junior Varsity” First Amendment Rights," September 19, 2025.Ilya Somin, "Abolish the FCC," September 18, 2025.David Inserra and John Samples, "Kimmel Cancellation a Dangerous Sign for Free Speech," September 24, 202Jennifer Huddelston, "Trump’s TikTok Reprieve Won’t Fix the Law’s Free Speech Problems," February 3, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce joins Jennifer Schulp and Cato's Norbert Michel to discuss how government financial surveillance has eroded Americans' constitutional privacy rights through tools like the Consolidated Audit Trail. Peirce advocates for principles-based regulation that protects individual financial privacy while allowing innovation to flourish, arguing that current prescriptive rules create barriers to entry and stifle competition. The conversation explores how new technologies could restore individual sovereignty over personal financial data, enabling Americans to reclaim control over their private information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are Americans becoming dangerously tolerant of political violence? After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, our Cato panel looks at trends in public opinion, past episodes of political terrorism, and new risks to free expression. Plus, Milei’s electoral setback in Buenos Aires province—what now for Argentina's libertarian experiment?Alex Nowrasteh, "Politically Motivated Violence Is Rare in the United States," September 11, 2025.Emily Ekins, "The State of Free Speech and Tolerance in America," October 2017 Survey Report.YouGov, "What Americans really think about political violence," September 12, 2025.Ian Vasquez, "Deregulation in Argentina." Spring 2025.Lorenzo Bernaldo de Quirós, "Argentine President Milei Should Let the Peso Float," September 17, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Syracuse University forced its social work faculty to partner with a for-profit corporation that takes two-thirds of online tuition revenue, professor Kenneth Corvo began investigating where student money actually goes in higher education. His findings reveal a systemic problem across American universities: more administrators than faculty at the college level, expanding bureaucracies focused on "student experience" and compliance, and minimal transparency about how tuition dollars are spent. The discussion with Cato's Walter Olson traces how federal funding, regulatory requirements, and the erosion of scientific rigor have combined to create institutions that increasingly fail their core educational mission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Congress returns to looming shutdowns and a “pocket-rescission” power grab. Abroad, President Trump pushes “America First” by rebranding the Pentagon as the Department of War—and launching an airstrike on a Venezuelan cartel boat. Our panel asks what all this says about America’s fiscal sanity and its foreign-policy compass.Adam N. Michel and Dominik Lett, “Reconciliation 2.0: Fix or Fiasco?,” Cato at Liberty (September 3, 2025)Romina Boccia and [co-author unspecified], “Coming Budget Debates and How Congress Should Navigate Them,” Cato at Liberty (September 2025)Brandan P. Buck, “The Lost Liberalism of America First,” Free Society (June 30, 2025)Brandan P. Buck, “The Cognitive Shift: How the Terrorist Label May Lead to Another Forever War,” Cato at Liberty (March 19, 2025) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.