Cato Event Podcast

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...

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...

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...

The Cato Institute is pleased to welcome South Dakota governor Kristi Noem Thursday, February 16, from 11 a.m. to noon for a panel discussion with Cato senior fellow Jeffrey Singer, MD, on what the COVID-19 pandemic taught us about how to deal with a public health emergency and the need for health care regulatory reform. 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...

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...

Joining Sphere Education Initiatives for this conversation will be a trio of experts: John Malcolm, vice president for the Institute for Constitutional Government and director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, Demetrius Minor, national manager of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, and Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The bankruptcy of centralized crypto exchange FTX has led to congressional hearings and calls to further scrutinize and regulate cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi). But how does DeFi compare to centralized or traditional finance in terms of its risks and benefits, and how should regulation take into account these distinctions? This panel will explore what it means for financial instruments and exchanges, as well as networked organizations, to be decentralized, the proper role of...

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

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

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

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

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

Public schooling has always been a site of social conflict, with diverse people forced to contend with each other to determine what the schools for which they all must pay will teach. But something seems to have changed in the past few years, with battles feeling more heated than ever before. In this forum, historian Jonathan Zimmerman will discuss the newly revised, 20th anniversary edition of his book Whose America: Culture Wars in the Public Schools, which dives into both historical...

Sphere Education Initiatives and iCivics are excited to invite you to a free professional development webinar on “Students, Teachers, and Free Speech”to be held over Zoom from 7:30 – 9:00 pm Eastern on December 13th. As we approach Bill of Rights Day, join educators from across the country and leading experts on the Constitution and the Supreme Court to learn more about the history of free speech cases and the impact they have on you as an educator. Our featured panelists include Thomas A....

Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said, “For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations.” She announced plans to “reset” the agency by restructuring its communications team, changing its organizational structure, and emphasizing applied rather than academic scientific research. Where did the CDC fail, and where did it succeed in responding to...

In recent decades, estimates of Chinese defense spending have varied wildly. Recognizing that market exchange rates cannot provide the best picture of Chinese defense spending on their own, analysts began using a blend of purchasing power parity and market exchange rates to represent Chinese military expenditures. With no agreed‐​on methodology, however, estimates have ranged from roughly $250 billion to near $600 billion. Since the Defense Department has identified China as the “pacing...

Environmental, social, and governance—or ESG—has captured the attention of the financial world. From large inflows to investment funds that market themselves as ESG‐​friendly to battles over ESG‐​framed shareholder proposals, ESG cannot be ignored. But what is ESG? Will it leave a lasting mark on financial regulation? Is ESG changing corporate governance? What role should ESG play in investment decisions? Should ESG be considered in assessing financial stability? Join us for an outstanding...

Environmental, social, and governance—or ESG—has captured the attention of the financial world. From large inflows to investment funds that market themselves as ESG‐​friendly to battles over ESG‐​framed shareholder proposals, ESG cannot be ignored. But what is ESG? Will it leave a lasting mark on financial regulation? Is ESG changing corporate governance? What role should ESG play in investment decisions? Should ESG be considered in assessing financial stability? Join us for an outstanding...

Environmental, social, and governance—or ESG—has captured the attention of the financial world. From large inflows to investment funds that market themselves as ESG‐​friendly to battles over ESG‐​framed shareholder proposals, ESG cannot be ignored. But what is ESG? Will it leave a lasting mark on financial regulation? Is ESG changing corporate governance? What role should ESG play in investment decisions? Should ESG be considered in assessing financial stability? Join us for an outstanding...