Cato Podcast

Cato Podcast

Each week on Cato Podcast, leading scholars and policymakers from the Cato Institute delve into the big ideas shaping our world: individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Whether unpacking current events, debating civil liberties, exploring technological innovation, or tracing the history of classical liberal thought, we promise insightful analysis grounded in rigorous research and Cato’s signature libertarian perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

Surf, Speech, and Government Cartels

March 24, 2026 • 46 mins
In Newport Beach and along California's state beaches, government-created monopolies have effectively banned independent surf instructors from earning a living, with one instructor fined $40,000 after an undercover sting operation. Stephen Slivinski, Caleb Trotter of Pacific Legal Foundation, and Cato's Tommy Berry explore why First Amendment claims may be the sharpest tool available for fighting back against occupational protectio...

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Talkin’ ’Bout My Generation (Z)

March 19, 2026 • 40 mins
Cato’s new media fellow, Rikki Schlott, joins Ryan Bourne to talk Gen Z: how social media shaped them, why online life has made young people both more anxious and more persuadable, and how the socialist left and the alt-right have each found fertile ground. They discuss the strange incentives of the attention economy, what Mamdani and other online political entrepreneurs get right, and whether libertarian ideas can be made to reson...

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Who's Watching the $170 Billion?

March 17, 2026 • 31 mins
A 30-day DHS shutdown hasn't slowed ICE or Border Patrol, because nearly $170 billion in One Big Beautiful Bill funding keeps them running with minimal transparency and almost no congressional oversight. Cato's Dominik Lett and David Bier break down how the shutdown exposes a deeper dysfunction: both parties have turned spending into a ratchet, growing the government they want while refusing to review what the other side built. The...

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Anthropic, Albany, and the AI Backlash

March 12, 2026 • 40 mins
AI policy discussions increasingly hinge on control: who sets the terms for how AI can be used, what it can say, and who gets access. Cato's Ryan Bourne hosts Jennifer Huddleston, Senior Fellow in Technology Policy, to discuss the federal government’s escalating dispute with Anthropic, New York’s proposal to police chatbot advice, and the public fears making restrictive AI policy more politically attractive.

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The Strait of Hormuz and the Price of War

March 10, 2026 • 26 mins
Beyond the immediate crisis, the conversation explores the unintended consequences of military escalation in the Middle East and the limits of U.S. policy responses once global energy flows are disrupted. Cato's Evan Sankey and Colin Grabow examine how great-power politics, alliance commitments, and domestic economic pressures will shape the administration’s next moves as the conflict unfolds.

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Unlawful Voting Is a Tiny Problem

March 5, 2026 • 36 mins
The push for new federal databases and legislation like the SAVE Act is often justified as necessary to stop widespread unlawful voting. But according to election administrators and investigators, confirmed cases are vanishingly rare. Cato's Walter Olson and Stephen Richer explore how voter roll audits actually work, why database matching can produce misleading headlines, and what the evidence reveals about the scale of the pr...

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War Powers and the Road to Iran

March 3, 2026 • 30 mins
As the White House signals openness to escalation and murky and conflicting objectives, uncertainty clouds both the legal basis and strategic endgame of U.S. involvement in Iran. The Cato Institute's Justin Logan, Thomas Berry, and Brandan P. Buck examine the constitutional and political questions surrounding the U.S. war on Iran. They explore whether the president has legal authority to initiate hostilitie...

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Rhetoric vs. Reality in the State of the Union

February 26, 2026 • 40 mins
President Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday was a full-throated victory lap: America is supposedly “bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever.” Cato’s Ryan Bourne, Clark Neily, and Evan Sankey separate truth from exaggeration—testing the economic claims, unpacking the legal fight over tariff power, and decoding the foreign-policy moves behind the applause lines.

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Who Decides When America Goes to War?

February 24, 2026 • 36 mins
Cato’s Katherine Thompson sits down with Matt Duss of the Center for International Policy to examine the persistent conflict between Congress and the presidency over war powers. From potential military action against Iran to past debates over Yemen and Venezuela, they explore how successive administrations have expanded executive authority and why Congress has struggled to reclaim its constitutional role.

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No Tax on Tips, New Tax on Billionaires?

February 20, 2026 • 41 mins
Ryan Bourne sits down with Cato’s Adam Michel to unpack what the 2026 tax year will bring, including new provisions commonly described as “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime." They also explore the economics of California's billionaire tax ballot initiative, and whether Trump Accounts are a good savings vehicle. 

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Ed Crane and the Ideas That Changed Washington — and the World

February 17, 2026 • 35 mins
From organizing pioneering conferences in China and the Soviet Union to insisting on rigorous scholarship and principled advocacy, Ed Crane brought classical liberal ideas into mainstream policy debates. Ian Vásquez, Jim Dorn, and Aaron Steelman share firsthand stories about Cato’s growth, Crane’s strategic vision, and the long-term approach that shaped debates on markets, foreign policy, and individual liberty around the world.

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Raging Against Modernity

February 12, 2026 • 40 mins

A new ideology is gaining influence on the American right: postliberalism. In this episode, Cato Institute economist Ryan Bourne speaks with Phil Magness of the Independent Institute about what postliberalism is, where it came from, and why it matters in today’s political debates.


They explore the key thinkers and personalities behind the postliberal movement, its critique of classical liberalism, and its views on executive powe...

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Why Globalization Wins on the Field

February 10, 2026 • 38 mins
Cato’s Scott Lincicome sits down with Washington Post editorial writer Dominic Pino to explore what professional sports reveal about trade, immigration, and competition. From a talent-filled, globe-spanning World Series to the NHL’s influx of Soviet and Russian players, they show how “imports” raise quality, delight consumers, and expose the contradictions in protectionist thinking.

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Protest, Carry, Die: Rights in Conflict

February 5, 2026 • 39 mins
As debates over gun rights intensify, recent shootings in Minnesota reveal how quickly constitutional protections can unravel in practice. Cato's Clark Neily and Matthew Cavedon discuss the dangers of treating firearms as intrinsic hazards, the hypocrisy of selective Second Amendment support, and why protecting unpopular speakers and armed protesters is essential to preserving civil liberties for everyone.

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Reforming the Federal Reserve, Brick by Brick

February 3, 2026 • 27 mins
For more than a century, the Federal Reserve has accumulated responsibilities far beyond monetary policy, from bank regulation to payments and emergency lending. The Cato Institute's Nick Anthony, Norbert Michel, and Jai Kedia break down what the Fed actually controls, what it does not, and why inflation, debt, and financial instability cannot be fixed by interest-rate tweaks alone.

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Why Propping Up Maduro’s Allies Won’t Save Venezuela

January 29, 2026 • 29 mins
After more than two decades of socialist rule, Venezuela faces a rare opportunity for democratic transition following Maduro’s removal. Ian Vásquez and Marcos Falcone trace the regime’s record of repression and economic collapse, explain why regime insiders cannot credibly deliver reform, and make the case for immediate engagement with María Corina Machado and the opposition that overwhelmingly won the 2024 election.

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History Makes Clear: School Choice Is Necessary in a Diverse Society

January 27, 2026 • 50 mins
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...

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Iran on the Brink: Another Middle East War in the Making?

January 22, 2026 • 30 mins
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.

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What’s Missing from the White House’s Health Care Plan

January 20, 2026 • 29 mins
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...

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Fallout From the Minnesota Fraud Scandal

January 15, 2026 • 29 mins
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.

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