Cato Daily Podcast

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 power, the American founding, constitutionalism, and contemporary public policy. The conversation examines how postliberal ideas are shaping modern conservatism and what they could mean for the future of American politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 “too noisy to fail” expectations across the banking system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

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.

A new Cato survey reveals that Americans overwhelmingly support Social Security while fundamentally misunderstanding its structure, finances, and long-term viability. Romina Boccia and Emily Ekins explore how myths about personal accounts, proportional benefits, and trust-fund solvency shape public opinion — and why ignorance makes meaningful reform politically elusive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cato's Ian Vásquez and the Fraser Institute's Matt Mitchell walk through the 2025 edition of the Human Freedom Index, documenting a worldwide decline in economic, civil, and personal freedoms that began before the pandemic and sharply accelerated after it. They explain how populism, authoritarian emergency powers, trade restrictions, and speech controls have left nine in ten people living in less free societies, and why the recovery remains uneven and fragile. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cato's Michael Cannon and the Center for Long-Term Care Reform's Stephen Moses examine how Medicaid’s long-term-care eligibility rules let middle- and upper-middle-class households shelter assets and shift costs onto taxpayers, driving up spending and lowering quality for the poor. Drawing on Moses’s new Cato paper Better Long-Term Care for Billions Less, they explain how perverse incentives, generous exemptions, and weak estate recovery undermine private planning and inflate a program already consuming one-third of Medicaid’s budget. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cato Institute's Katherine Thompson and Josh Shifrinson join Justin Logan to dissect the most contentious passages of the National Security Strategy, including its warnings about European “civilizational erasure,” its revived Monroe Doctrine instincts, and the absence of military escalation language on China. The discussion weighs whether this NSS truly reflects restraint and realism or simply refines old habits under a new rhetorical wrapping. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cato Institute's Jeff Singer and Michael Fox mark Repeal Day by examining how alcohol prohibition and the modern drug war share the same destructive logic: criminalizing peaceful people, fueling black markets, corrupting law enforcement incentives, and empowering violent traffickers. Drawing on real-world examples of overdose deaths, civil forfeiture, and policing excesses, they argue for a consistent, liberty-based framework that treats drug users with the same legal respect afforded to alcohol consumers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.