Cato Events Podcast

The Republican Party is engaged in a more vigorous debate over foreign policy than it has been for decades. On one side is an old guard that sees no need to prioritize among threats, viewing all dangers as linked, so that facing down anything constitutes facing down everything. On the other side are the prioritizers, who have argued that America’s interests and its resources both have limits. They hold that the most prominent challenge to US interests is China and that Washington should prioritize the Indo‐​Pacific in its spending and planning.

What, if anything, does history tell us about where the right and the GOP are headed on foreign policy? How big is the generational divide on this issue? Where do the leading presidential candidates stand, and what effect will that have on where the party heads? Join us as our panel of experts analyzes and discusses this issue.

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Many have expressed alarm over the rapid rise of cancel culture. The Canceling of the American Mind is the first book to codify it and survey its effects. Following the best‐​selling The Coddling of the American Mind, this new book looks at the topic with hard data and research on what cancel culture is and how it works, along with hundreds of new examples showing the left and the right both working to silence their enemies.

Coauthor Greg Lukianoff will examine the often‐​undiscussed issues related to cancel culture and how its unprecedented scale will likely be studied years from now in the same way we study the Red Scare or the Alien and Sedition Acts. But rather than a moral panic, he argues that we should consider it a dysfunctional part of how Americans battle for power, status, and dominance. Cancel culture is just one symptom of a much larger problem: the use of cheap rhetorical tactics to “win” arguments without actually winning arguments. After all, why bother refuting your opponents when you can just take away their platform or career?

The good news that The Canceling of the American Mind provides is that we can beat back this threat to liberal values and democracy through better citizenship. Lukianoff offers concrete steps toward reclaiming a culture of free speech that goes beyond mere legal protections. In so doing, we can all show intellectual humility and promote the essential American principles of individuality, resilience, and open mindedness.

Please join us for a fascinating discussion of cancel culture, its impact on our society and politics, and what the free speech response should be.

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Hong Kong rose from poverty to prosperity by adhering to the rule of law and safeguarding freedom of speech, property rights, free trade, and the whole range of personal and economic liberties that made the territory one of the freest places on Earth. As Beijing brazenly violated Hong Kongers’ basic rights and autonomy, media entrepreneur and democracy activist Jimmy Lai became one of the territory’s leading dissidents and an eloquent champion of human freedom. While Lai defended Hong Kong’s traditional liberties, the authorities shut down his popular newspaper, Apple Daily, and threw him in jail, where he awaits trial on trumped up national security charges that could result in life imprisonment.

Join us for a screening of an Acton Institute documentary about how Lai’s remarkable struggle embodies Hong Kong’s spirit and about the greater implications of this contest between liberty and power. A brief discussion will follow the film.

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In an era marked by contentiousness, rancor, and bitter divide, what role does or should civility play in our society? Further, how ought proper civility be understood and meaningfully differ from mere politeness? In her new book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, Alexandra Hudson addresses these insights with a refreshing exploration that digs deeply into the history of civility, its relevance for today, and the impact it can have on ourselves, our relationships, and our society.

The Cato Institute’s Sphere Education Initiatives is pleased to host Alexandra Hudson in the Hayek Auditorium on December 4th from 12–1 pm EST for a special book release event. Please join us in person or via online streaming video for this important conversation.

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The arrival of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has captured the imagination of the public and policymakers. While often hailed as the newest new thing in many sectors, AI has been a core financial technology for decades. From market makers to consumer‐​facing fintechs, our financial markets both deploy and innovate cutting‐​edge AI.

In 2023 alone, more than half a dozen US financial regulators have addressed AI through commentary or rulemaking, and the Biden administration’s October Executive Order on AI likely will have far‐​reaching implications for financial use cases. How regulators treat general‐​purpose AI will affect the future of finance, and how they treat financial AI will affect the future of technology broadly. Join us for an online panel exploring the policy implications of the financial AI developments on the horizon.

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When commentators and politicians discuss misinformation, they often repeat five words: “fire in a crowded theater.” This outdated analogy, originally deployed to justify the conviction of an anti‐​draft pamphleteer, has taken on a life of its own as a catch‐​all justification for the regulation of false speech. Along with the other half‐​truths, exaggerations, lies, and falsehoods that law professor Jeff Kosseff examines in Liar in a Crowded Theater, this persistent, pernicious phrase illustrates the enduring difficulty of mandating truth.

Kosseff addresses the pervasiveness of lies, the legal protections they enjoy, the harm they cause, and how to combat them. From the COVID-19 pandemic to the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, he argues that even though lies can inflict huge damage, US law should continue to protect them. Liar in a Crowded Theater explores both the history of protected falsehoods and where to go from here.

Kosseff shows not only why courts are reluctant to be the arbiters of truth but also why they’re uniquely unsuited to that role. Rather than resorting to regulating speech and fining or jailing speakers, Kosseff proposes solutions that focus on minimizing the harms of misinformation.

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