The Cato Weekly Podcast

By Cato InstituteNews Government News Commentary Politics

Favorites
215
Followers
Typical duration
30 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

The Cato Weekly Podcast episodes

January 27 History Makes Clear: School Choice Is Necessary in a Diverse Society
Cato’s Neal McCluskey is joined by Cheryl Fields-Smith, Matthew Lee, and Ron Matus to discuss the new book Fighting for the Freedom to Learn and the centuries-long movement for school choice in America. They challenge the myth that school choice is a modern or partisan project, showing how diverse communities, religious groups, progressives, and parents have long sought pluralistic education options, which is the only way to deliver education consistent with a free and diverse society.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
51 min
January 22 Iran on the Brink: Another Middle East War in the Making?
With aircraft carriers moving into position and calls for “new leadership” in Tehran growing louder, the risk of U.S. military action remains high despite the absence of a coherent strategy. The Cato Institute's Brandan P. Buck and Jon Hoffman argue that vague objectives, inflated threat perceptions, and regime-change fantasies threaten to pull the United States into a costly war that Americans do not want.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 min
January 20 What’s Missing from the White House’s Health Care Plan
From over-the-counter drugs to employer-controlled health benefits, Cato's Michael Cannon and Dr. Jeffrey Singer argue that real health reform means giving patients control over their own money rather than reshuffling subsidies. They explain how freeing short-term plans, deregulating prescriptions, and ending tax favoritism for employer insurance could deliver lower prices, broader choice, and more durable reform than another round of federal spending.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 min
January 15 Fallout From the Minnesota Fraud Scandal
Cato's David Bier and Chris Edwards discuss the welfare fraud scandals in Minnesota, including the $250 million Feeding Our Future scam, to explain how federal money flowing through state programs creates weak oversight and incentives for abuse. They argue that the structure of federal aid to states, not immigration or individual bad actors, is the core driver of fraud in welfare, housing, and health programs.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 min
January 13 Free Markets for Electricity
As data centers begin demanding power at the scale of entire cities, the electricity system is running headlong into regulatory barriers built for a different era. The Cato Institute's Travis Fisher sits down with Glen Lyons, the founder of Advocates for Consumer Regulated Electricity, to explore proposals for off-grid utilities, Senator Tom Cotton’s new legislation, and how market-based approaches could accelerate supply while protecting consumers from rising costs and reliability risks.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
45 min
January 08 When Presidents Decide to Go to War Alone: Venezuela Edition
The arrest of Nicolás Maduro raises hard questions about presidential power, congressional authority, and the legal boundaries of military force. Cato's Brandan P. Buck and Clark Neily analyze the operation’s status under U.S. and international law, its implications for future conflicts, and why ambiguity has become the executive branch’s most dangerous tool.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
29 min
January 06 Debanked for Dissent: How Putin’s Reach Extends Abroad
A Russian dissident living in exile finds her US bank accounts closed after being labeled an extremist by the Kremlin. Nicholas Anthony interviews Anna Chekhovich of the Anti-Corruption Foundation about her experience being debanked. Together, they unpack how sanctions, anti-money laundering rules, and financial surveillance systems enable authoritarian governments to silence critics beyond their borders.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
38 min
January 01 Banking on Moral Hazard: The Push for $10 Million Deposit Insurance
A plan to massively expand FDIC insurance is gaining traction in Washington, despite little evidence that customers or community banks are asking for it. Cato's Nicholas Anthony, Norbert Michel, and Jill Castilla, CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond, show how the proposal would subsidize wealthy depositors, weaken market discipline, and entrench bailout expectations across the banking system.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35 min
December 30, 2025 Australia’s Social Media Ban and the Illusion of Online Safety
From Australia’s social media ban to U.S. and UK age-verification laws, governments are increasingly treating online access as something to be licensed. Cato's Jennifer Huddleston and David Inserra explore how these policies collide with free expression, parental autonomy, and privacy, and why empowering families works better than sweeping government bans.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
40 min
December 23, 2025 How Fuel Economy Rules Made Cars Bigger, Pricier, and Less Safe
Intended to save fuel and protect consumers, CAFE standards have instead penalized efficient small cars, subsidized trucks and SUVs, and created a de facto electric-vehicle mandate. Cato's Chad Davis, Brent Skorup, and Peter Van Doren trace how decades of regulatory layering have increased vehicle manufacturing costs, reduced affordability for consumers, and locked automakers into an endless cycle of policy reversals.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
41 min

About The Cato Weekly Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Every Tuesday on The Cato Weekly Podcast, leading scholars and policy analysts from the Cato Institute delve into the big ideas shaping our world: individual liberty, limited government, free…