Cato Events Podcast

Interest in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) has dramatically increased over the past few years. What was once limited to passing ideas in academic papers has now become a leading policy discussion. Yet with it has also come a growing concern for the future of freedom. Will CBDCs spell doom for financial privacy? Do they pose a fundamental threat to the banking system? And how should policymakers think about the future of money?

The Cato Institute is pleased to welcome Representative Tom Emmer (R‑MN) to provide an opening address as the first member of Congress to introduce legislation prohibiting the Fed from launching a retail CBDC. Following Rep. Emmer’s address, Norbert Michel, vice president and director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at Cato, will moderate a panel discussion with Greg Baer, Christina Skinner, Christian Kameir, and Nicholas Anthony. Come join us on March 9 for this important conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On February 21, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, a case that risks reshaping the internet for the worse. In Gonzalez, plaintiffs have sued Google, the parent company of YouTube, alleging that YouTube’s algorithms aided terrorist recruitment by helping would‐​be terrorists find radicalizing videos. They argue that YouTube’s video “recommendations” are distinct from publishing and thus unprotected by Section 230. If accepted, their argument would expose many websites’ algorithmic matching features to litigation. This will be the first time the Supreme Court interprets Section 230, the bedrock intermediary liability shield that enables the modern internet, and whatever the court decides will echo throughout the web.

Join our panelists Thomas Berry, Jess Miers, Nicole Saad Bembridge, and Gabrielle Shea for a discussion of the oral arguments in Gonzalez, moderated by Will Duffield. We will explain the implications of the case and attempt to read the tea leaves of justices’ reactions and remarks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Personal and financial privacy are key components of life in free societies, where individuals enjoy—or at least should enjoy—a private sphere free of government involvement, surveillance, and control. However, laws that were written before the digital era now result in financial institutions collecting untold amounts of consumer data to which the government has easy—and often unfettered—access, intruding on Americans’ financial privacy and endangering their Fourth Amendment rights.

The root of this problem is the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA) and its later amendments, including those in the Patriot Act of 2001. The BSA now forms the basis of an extensive—and costly—regulatory framework that forces private financial companies to act as law enforcement agents. The evidence shows that this framework has placed major burdens on law‐​abiding Americans but has not significantly reduced criminal activity.

Is it time to rethink how financial privacy is treated in the digital era? Join us for an outstanding panel discussion—moderated by Fox News Analyst Kat Timpf—featuring Norbert Michel, Jennifer Schulp, and Aaron Klein. Representative John Rose (R‑TN) will provide introductory remarks to kick off the event. Rep. Rose introduced the Bank Privacy Reform Act, a bill that would keep the Bank Secrecy Act’s record‐​keeping requirements intact but prevent the government from accessing consumers’ transaction history without first obtaining a warrant, thus reaffirming the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can I teach that book? What kind of reaction am I going to get from my administration or parents if I do? Is it worth the hassle?

Across the country, educators are struggling with an evolving and confusing landscape when it comes to what they can teach. The number of banned and challenged books is skyrocketing. Some teachers have been told to hide or remove their classroom libraries out of fear of violating the law. Unsurprisingly, this has left educators afraid and confused.

Sphere Education Initiatives is pleased to welcome Jonathan Friedman, Director of Free Expression and Education Programs at PEN America, for our webinar Challenging Classroom Conversations: Banned and Challenged Books to discuss his research on banned and challenged books in America, what’s driving this phenomenon, and how educators can respond during these confusing times. Join us on Wednesday, February 15th from 7:30 – 9:00 Eastern for this timely and important conversation.

Following the opening conversation on banned and challenged books, there will be a professional development workshop introducing Sphere’s latest classroom resource, “Practicing Civil Discourse Through Literature.” Elyse Alter, Content Development Manager for Sphere Education Initiatives, will be joined by Stephanie Hasty, the author of the resource and an English Language Arts instructor, to discuss the role of civil discourse in the ELA classroom, preview some of the materials, and discuss ways to practically respond to the specter of banned and challenged books in your community.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cato Institute is pleased to welcome Iowa governor Kim Reynolds this Friday, February 10, from 11 AM–noon for a panel discussion with Chris Edwards, Kilts Family Chair in Fiscal Studies and primary author of the Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, and Neal McCluskey, the director of Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom.

Governor Reynolds received the highest score on the Report Card in 2022. She has been a lean budgeter and dedicated tax reformer since entering office in 2017. She slashed the Iowa corporate income tax from 9.8 percent to 5.5 percent, and she transformed the individual income tax from a nine‐​bracket system with a top rate of 8.98 percent to a 3.9 percent flat tax.

Edwards and the governor will cover the importance of tax reform in today’s competitive economy and the challenges of restraining spending, and balancing an annual state budget. McCluskey and the governor will discuss education policy and school choice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ince September 2022, when the 22‐​year‐​old woman Mahsa Amini died at the hands of “religion police,” Iran has been shaken by massive anti‐​regime demonstrations. The protestors demand freedom from an authoritarian regime that has ruled in the name of religion since 1979. Do they have a chance? Or is the Islamic republic strong enough to survive for the foreseeable future? And what are the lessons from Iran for other Muslim‐​majority nations, where the role of religion in public life keeps being contested?

Cato fellow Sahar Khan will moderate and Mustafa Akyol will discuss these questions with Mohamad Machine‐​Chian, an Iranian intellectual who has been on the forefront of the freedom movement within the Islamic republic and who only recently moved to the United States. He has personally experienced the regime’s brutality and has studied both its structure and also its critics. Come join us on January 25 for this important conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.