North Carolina is taking the first steps toward a complete revision of the state’s criminal code. If successful, the rewrite could set a positive example for states across the nation. Jay Schweikart, policy analyst with the Cato Institute, and Jim Copland, senior fellow and director of legal policy with the Manhattan Institute, recently served as panelists for a joint Cato/John Locke Foundation summit on criminal law reform. Schweikart and Copland placed North Carolina’s work in a national context during conversations with Mitch Kokai.

In an era of acute political polarization, the editor of RealClearMarkets.com declares that both sides are wrong. John Tamny’s latest book says conservatives are wrong about immigration, budget deficits, and high corporate tax rates. Liberals are wrong about global warming, tax cuts and tax increases, and “shovel-ready” government spending. Both groups are wrong about education issues. They’re Both Wrong: A Policy Guide for America’s Frustrated Independent Thinkers tackles these and other topics. Tamny discusses his work with Mitch Kokai.

There’s general agreement about the health dangers of cigarettes. That doesn’t mean that the same strategies used to fight cigarette smoking make sense for other forms of tobacco use — including e-cigarettes. Policymakers ought to consider the facts as they address the latest scare over vaping-related illnesses. Jacob Grier explores the impact of anti-smoking campaigns and e-cigarette use in the book The Rediscovery of Tobacco: Smoking, Vaping, and the Creative Destruction of the Cigarette. Grier discusses his findings with Mitch Kokai.

Occupational licensing laws kill 2.85 million jobs a year in the United States, including 43,000 in North Carolina. That’s the estimate from Justin Pearson, attorney with the Institute for Justice. Pearson outlined the problems associated with licensing restrictions during a speech for the Triangle Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society. Pearson discusses highlights of his licensing work with Mitch Kokai.

Big technology companies have generated major benefits for consumers and the economy as a whole. But pundits and politicians on the political left and right have attacked Big Tech. That’s no surprise to Thomas Hazlett, professor of economics at Clemson University and author of a recent Reason magazine cover story: “The New Trustbusters Are Coming for Big Tech.” Hazlett discusses his article with Mitch Kokai. Hazlett explains why the latest complaints fit with a longstanding pattern of outcries against disruptive innovations.

Government spends billions of dollars fighting society’s problems: drugs, crime, chronic unemployment, and more. Yet those problems persist. Howard Husock, vice president for policy research at the Manhattan Institute, says one reason is the turn away from a strategy that focuses on preventing social harm. Husock explains his argument in the new book Who Killed Civil Society? Mitch Kokai discusses with Husock key themes from the book and its implications for future government social policies.

The John Locke Foundation has advocated parental school choice for years. Leading the research-based, public policy argument for choice, Dr. Terry Stoops has spent much of his working day scouring and analyzing documents and data. Now the JLF vice president for research and director of education studies is gaining real-world insights about school choice. Stoops and his wife oversaw creation of Carolina Charter Academy, a K-6 school near the Wake/Harnett County line. It opened its doors Aug. 23. Stoops discusses with Mitch Kokai the new school’s planning and development, recent opening, and future challenges.

The U.S. Supreme Court could clarify soon the extent to which public tax dollars can fund religious education. That issue is key to the case of Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue. It focuses on the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. But Christian Barnard, education policy analyst at the libertarian Reason Foundation, says the case reminds him of a little-discussed fact: Under the guise of being values-neutral, government officials have established a state-sponsored ideology in public schools. Mitch Kokai and Barnard discuss details of the Espinoza case and the broader context.

As North Carolina’s state budget impasse continues, Republican legislative leaders are proposing to send refund checks of up to $250 to taxpayers across the state. The money is available thanks to an unexpected revenue surplus of nearly $900 million. Mitch Kokai features comments about the refund proposal from N.C. House and Senate leaders. He then discusses the plan with Joseph Coletti, John Locke Foundation senior fellow. Coletti explains why he believes a tax refund is the second-best use of the unexpected surplus money.

We’ve all heard that the answer to greater lifelong success involves more higher education. But what if the American system of higher education has deep, pervasive problems that render it dysfunctional? Phillip Magness and Jason Brennan question that claim in the book Cracks in the Ivory Tower: The Moral Mess of Higher Education. Mitch Kokai and John Locke Foundation President/CEO Kory Swanson chat with Magness about the book’s key findings.