Cato Events Podcast

By Cato InstituteNews Government News Commentary Politics

Cato Events Podcast episodes

March 13, 2008 Reclaiming Conservatism: How a Great American Political Movement Got Lost — And How It Can Find Its Way Back
Some believe the 2008 election may transform the modern conservative movement. Others say the administration of George W. Bush has already moved the Republican Party away from any claim to being the champion of limited government and individual liberty. Mickey Edwards argues that conservatives have abandoned these principles in favor of an imperial presidency. These “conservatives” have gutted the system of checks and balances, abandoned due process, and trampled on our cherished civil liberties. From Goldwater to Reagan, conservatives tried to protect citizens from government intrusion; now they see few limits on what government can do. Please join us for a discussion of this new book and its implications for the next administration and beyond.
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1 hr 21 min
March 12, 2008 The Venezuelan Student Movement for Liberty
On December 2, 2007, Venezuelans rejected through a referendum constitutional changes proposed by President Hugo Chávez that would have turned their country into a socialist state. The Venezuelan student movement played the key role in that outcome. Student leader Yon Goicoechea will explain how and why students from public and private universities from across the country came together in defense of basic liberties. Author and human rights activist Gustavo Tovar will describe how the movement's philosophy of nonviolence helped to forge an effective opposition. Gerver Torres will discuss the significant impact of the "No" vote on public opinion and politics in Venezuela and throughout Latin America. All three speakers will discuss the future of the student movement and of Venezuelan politics.
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1 hr 21 min
March 11, 2008 Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877
Throes of Democracy, the second volume in Walter McDougall's series on American history, illuminates a period of profound transformation in American politics and society. From the presidency of Andrew Jackson to the splits and regeneration of American political parties, Throes of Democracy describes in vivid detail America's transformation from frontier Republic to national state.
McDougall, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, pays particular attention to the diverse experiences of the new Americans representing a mélange of religions, ethnicities, and ideologies: Jews, Protestants, Catholics; Germans, Irish, Africans; Whigs and Democrats. Examining the outcome of the Civil War, McDougall makes a compelling argument that the failure of Reconstruction can be seen as a progenitor of America's latter-day failed attempts at regime change and nation building. In the end, McDougall's dedication to historical accuracy, his elegant prose, and his sharp analysis make for an eminently readable and moving narrative.
Please join the author and our distinguished commentators for a discussion of this fine new history.
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1 hr 30 min
March 06, 2008 Supreme Neglect: How to Revive Constitutional Protection for Private Property
Returning to the subject that first made him famous over two decades ago, Richard Epstein, the author of Takings, has a new book on property rights. In it, he takes readers from the strongly protective property rights advocated by the Constitution's Framers to the weak property rights supported by progressive and liberal politicians in the 20th century. Using both political theory and economic analysis, Epstein offers a compelling interpretation of the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause to draw the connections between property rights, individual liberty, and social progress. And he looks also at the renewed appreciation of property rights that has arisen in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's infamous Kelo v. New London decision. Please join us for a discussion of this new work, with vigorous comments from the other side.
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1 hr 30 min
March 05, 2008 Freeing SpeechNow: Free Speech and Association vs. Campaign Finance Regulation
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1 hr 18 min
March 04, 2008 Market Reforms and Reelection: Are They Compatible?
"We all know what to do, but we don't know how to get re-elected once we have done it," said Jan-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg. He was referring to a key political conundrum faced by leaders in most democracies, including members of the European Union and the United States, who realize the need for economic reforms but often fail to tackle them out of fear of voters' displeasure. Munkhammar argues in his new book The Guide to Reform that many supposed obstacles to reform are not obstacles at all and shows that almost all of the reformist governments in the OECD have been reelected. His book discusses successful reforms in, among other nations, Ireland, Spain, and Sweden, and offers practical advice on how to get them done.
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1 hr 10 min
February 29, 2008 What to Do about Climate Change
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42 min
February 27, 2008 Race and the State
February is Black History Month, so it’s an appropriate time to take a critical look at the way government has treated racial minorities, especially African Americans. Is government more likely to be the friend or adversary of minority groups? Has it been liberals, conservatives, or libertarians like William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass who have been the most consistent defenders of everyone's rights? What does history suggest would be the best public policy for racial minorities in the 21st century? Bruce Bartlett, a former Reagan administration economist with a provocative new book, and Casey Lartigue, coeditor of Educational Freedom in Urban America and a controversial former XM 169 talk show host, will discuss these questions.
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1 hr 6 min
February 21, 2008 Human Organs for Sale?
As the U.S. organ donor waiting list nears a record 100,000 and an average of seven Americans die every day waiting for an organ that never comes, solving the U.S. organ shortage takes on new urgency. Matas and Hippen will argue that the shortage could be solved by lifting the U.S. prohibition on the sale of human organs. Delmonico and Crowe will argue that the legalization of organ sales would do more harm than good. Matas will present his model for a regulated organ market described in his recent Cato study "A Gift of Life Deserves Compensation." And Hippen will present his observations on why Iran is the only country in the world without an organ shortage, the subject of his forthcoming study.
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1 hr 31 min
February 19, 2008 Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson
Twilight at Monticello is an unprecedented and engrossing personal look at Thomas Jefferson in his final years that will change the way readers think about him. During the years from his return to Monticello in 1809 until his death in 1826, Jefferson dealt with illness and debt, corresponded with the leading figures of the Revolution, and became a radical decentralist and admirer of the New England townships, where, he believed, the real fire of liberty burned bright.
Jefferson had witnessed the strength of local governments during his ill-advised, near-dictatorial embargo, which proved to be the great crisis of his political life, not because he placed too much faith in his countrymen's capacity for self-government but because, for once in his life, he placed too little faith in it. During these years, Jefferson also became increasingly aware of the costs to civil harmony exacted by the Founding Fathers' failure to effectively reconcile slaveholding within a republic dedicated to liberty.

Right up until his death on the 50th anniversary of America's founding, Thomas Jefferson remained an indispensable man, albeit a supremely human one. Based on new research and documents culled from the Library of Congress, the Virginia Historical Society, and other special collections, including hitherto unexamined letters from family, friends, and Monticello neighbors, Alan Pell Crawford paints an authoritative and deeply moving portrait of Thomas Jefferson as private citizen — the first original depiction of the man in more than a generation.
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48 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…