Cato Events Podcast

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Cato Events Podcast episodes

March 17, 2017 Rethinking Regulatory Takings: A Preview of Murr v. Wisconsin on the Eve of Oral Argument
On March 20 the Supreme Court will finally hear oral arguments in Murr v. Wisconsin, a property rights case it agreed to take up in January 2016. We don’t know why the Court waited almost 14 months to schedule the case for argument and did not wait an additional month — when Judge Gorsuch might be on the Court — but better now than never. Joseph Murr and his siblings own two side-by-side lakeside lots, one with a recreational cabin and the other left vacant as an investment. Due to land-use restrictions, they allege that Wisconsin has “taken” the vacant lot, which would require the state to pay just compensation under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. Wisconsin courts rejected this claim by considering the economic use of the two lots combined. The Murr case thus asks how courts should define the “relevant parcel” of land when evaluating regulatory takings. Cato filed a brief in this case, arguing that current regulatory-takings jurisprudence is unclear and puts a thumb on the scale for the government. Another amicus brief, filed by Nevada and eight other states and co-authored by Ilya Somin, argues that the Wisconsin court’s rule “creates significant perverse incentives for both landowners and regulators.” Please join us for a discussion of one of the most important cases of this Supreme Court term on the eve of argument.
1 hr 16 min
March 10, 2017 Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia
In Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia, Samuel Charap (Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia, IISS) and Timothy J. Colton (Morris and Anna Feldberg Professor of Government and Russian Studies and Chair of the Department of Government, Harvard University) examine the roots of the Ukraine crisis, which saw the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula, offering a coherent narrative of Western and Russian policies in post-Soviet Eurasia since 1991, and providing a balanced assessment of both Russia and the West’s actions post-2014. The authors argue that all governments involved must recognize the failure of current policies and commit to finding mutually acceptable alternatives. Everyone Loses provides a timely and readable analysis of how we arrived at this dangerous juncture and how we might get out of it.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 31 min
March 10, 2017 Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia
In Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia, Samuel Charap (Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia, IISS) and Timothy J. Colton (Morris and Anna Feldberg Professor of Government and Russian Studies and Chair of the Department of Government, Harvard University) examine the roots of the Ukraine crisis, which saw the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula, offering a coherent narrative of Western and Russian policies in post-Soviet Eurasia since 1991, and providing a balanced assessment of both Russia and the West’s actions post-2014. The authors argue that all governments involved must recognize the failure of current policies and commit to finding mutually acceptable alternatives. Everyone Loses provides a timely and readable analysis of how we arrived at this dangerous juncture and how we might get out of it.
1 hr 31 min
March 08, 2017 Setting Infrastructure Priorities: Considerations for the 115th Congress
Republicans and Democrats agree that more effort should be made to restore America’s infrastructure. But how should we decide what projects are funded? How much should be spent on new infrastructure and how much on reconstruction? How does funding and finance influence priorities? Should the goal be to create short-term jobs, long-term economic growth, or simply new transportation alternatives?Join four leading transportation experts in a discussion of highways, transit, high-speed rail, airports and air traffic control, and transportation finance.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
57 min
March 08, 2017 Setting Infrastructure Priorities: Considerations for the 115th Congress
Republicans and Democrats agree that more effort should be made to restore America’s infrastructure. But how should we decide what projects are funded? How much should be spent on new infrastructure and how much on reconstruction? How does funding and finance influence priorities? Should the goal be to create short-term jobs, long-term economic growth, or simply new transportation alternatives?
Join four leading transportation experts in a discussion of highways, transit, high-speed rail, airports and air traffic control, and transportation finance.
57 min
March 07, 2017 Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy
Can states that possess nuclear weapons better coerce adversaries than states without nuclear weapons?

In Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy, Todd S. Sechser and Matthew Fuhrmann argue that the empirical record undermines the case that nuclear weapons are a useful coercive tool. They show that states with nuclear weapons don’t have more leverage in settling territorial disputes, they don’t initiate military challenges more often, they are not more likely to escalate ongoing disputes, they are not more likely to blackmail rivals, and they are just as likely as nonnuclear states to make concessions in high-stakes confrontations.
This is not to say nuclear weapons are unimportant. They are extremely useful for deterrence. But it turns out they don’t enable states to get their way with ease.
These findings have important implications for foreign policy and our understanding of complex issues ranging from Iran and North Korea, to the prospect of conflict in the South China Sea, to America’s own approach to the world.
Please join us for this timely and provocative discussion.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 1 min
March 07, 2017 Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy
Can states that possess nuclear weapons better coerce adversaries than states without nuclear weapons?
In Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy, Todd S. Sechser and Matthew Fuhrmann argue that the empirical record undermines the case that nuclear weapons are a useful coercive tool. They show that states with nuclear weapons don’t have more leverage in settling territorial disputes, they don’t initiate military challenges more often, they are not more likely to escalate ongoing disputes, they are not more likely to blackmail rivals, and they are just as likely as nonnuclear states to make concessions in high-stakes confrontations.
This is not to say nuclear weapons are unimportant. They are extremely useful for deterrence. But it turns out they don’t enable states to get their way with ease.
These findings have important implications for foreign policy and our understanding of complex issues ranging from Iran and North Korea, to the prospect of conflict in the South China Sea, to America’s own approach to the world.
Please join us for this timely and provocative discussion.
1 hr 1 min
March 06, 2017 Setting Transportation Infrastructure Priorities
Republicans and Democrats agree that more effort should be made to restore America’s infrastructure. But how should we decide what projects are funded? How much should be spent on new infrastructure and how much on reconstruction? How does funding and finance influence priorities? Should the goal be to create short-term jobs, long-term economic growth, or simply new transportation alternatives? Join four leading transportation experts in a discussion of highways, transit, intercity rail, airports and air traffic control, transportation finance, and regulation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 25 min
March 06, 2017 Setting Transportation Infrastructure Priorities
Republicans and Democrats agree that more effort should be made to restore America’s infrastructure. But how should we decide what projects are funded? How much should be spent on new infrastructure and how much on reconstruction? How does funding and finance influence priorities? Should the goal be to create short-term jobs, long-term economic growth, or simply new transportation alternatives? Join four leading transportation experts in a discussion of highways, transit, intercity rail, airports and air traffic control, transportation finance, and regulation.
1 hr 16 min
March 02, 2017 Business and the Roberts Court
Is the Supreme Court "pro-business?" That's a claim often heard from critics of the Roberts Court, now circulating once more amid a likely battle over the confirmation of a successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia. But what does the claim mean? Does it charge the Court with ruling wrongly in favor of business litigants, with shaping legal doctrine in unprincipled ways, or with something else? In Business and the Roberts Court, Professor Jonathan Adler assembles essays from scholars who consider how and whether Roberts Court decisions can or cannot be fairly deemed favorable to business. One pattern is that this Court follows doctrinal commitments — in areas from free speech to federalism to employment and securities law — that sometimes though not always coincide with the interests of producers and employers in the national economy. As the Senate considers President Trump's nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the vacant seat on the Court, join us for a book forum on one of the most important elements of Chief Justice John Roberts' rule — and Antonin Scalia's legacy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 16 min

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The Cato Events Podcast brings you live recordings from the Cato Institute's events, where leading scholars, policymakers, journalists, and experts come together each week to discuss the ideas and…