Author: Cato Institute

Both Republicans and Democrats pressure the Fed toward different agendas, revealing deeper institutional problems. Norbert Michel and Jai Kedia argue that broad discretion and an inflated view of the Fed's influence enable mission creep and capture regardless of who holds power. The solution? Congressional legislation establishing clear rules.

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Travis Fisher and Jennifer Huddleston discuss how outdated energy policies created barriers to new generation just as AI data centers began demanding unprecedented amounts of power. They imagine a path forward using free market policies in both AI and electricity to create previously unimaginable levels of human flourishing and prosperity.

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President Trump is taking a victory lap for brokering peace in Gaza—while simultaneously escalating the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine and launching airstrikes against suspected cartel boats. Our panel assesses Trump’s Nobel ambitions, celebrates this year’s actual Peace Prize winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.

Featuring Ryan Bourne, Gene Healy, Justin Logan, & Ian Vasquez

Justin Logan, "The Case for Withdrawing from the Middle East," Defense Priorities, September 2020.

Ian Vasquez, “Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan Champion of Freedom, Wins the Nobel Peace Prize,” Cato at Liberty blog, October 10, 2025.

Ian Vasquez and Marcos Falcone, “Liberty Versus Power in Milei’s Argentina,” Free Society, October, 2025.

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According to recent government data, immigration enforcement has become a much more dangerous job. David Bier and Patrick Eddington discuss the policy tradeoffs driving these numbers, previous administrations' efforts at mitigating mass immigration, and how to craft a more just, effective and safe immigration policy.

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President Trump’s new “Compact with Academia” aims to reshape higher ed using the leverage of federal funds. Our panel unpacks the constitutional risks of Washington’s latest salvo in the campus culture wars. Plus, shutdown week two: will the administration deliver on federal job cuts or is it Grim Reaper cosplay?

 

Featuring:Ryan Bourne, Gene Healy, Neal McCluskey and Adam Michel

 

Neal McCluskey, "Higher Ed Compact Is More of the Same, Worse," Cato at Liberty blog, October 7, 2025.

Adam Michel, "Six Reasons to Not Extend the Enhanced Obamacare Subsidies," Cato at Liberty blog, October 7, 2025.

Neal McCluskey, "Court Rightly Finds for Harvard Against Trump Administration," Cato at Liberty blog, September 4, 2025.

Dominik Lett, "Revoking IEEPA Tariffs Will Not “Lead to Financial Ruin,”" Cato at Liberty blog, October 3, 2025.

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Robby Soave, senior editor at Reason and co-host of The Hill's Rising, join's Cato's Thomas A. Berry and David Inserra to discuss the state of free speech following the Charlie Kirk assassination and Jimmy Kimmel suspension. They examine how recent administrations have engaged in government jawboning to suppress speech and conclude that consistent First Amendment principles must prevail regardless of which party controls government power.

Show Notes:

https://www.cato.org/blog/kimmel-cancellation-dangerous-sign-free-speech

https://www.cato.org/blog/americans-must-remain-committed-free-expression-after-assassination-charlie-kirk

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The federal government shuts down as the Supreme Court returns. Our panel looks at the Trump team’s plan to use the shutdown for mass layoffs —and previews a new Supreme Court term packed with big fights over tariffs, emergency powers, and the future of “independent” agencies.

Featuring: Ryan Bourne, Gene Healy, Thomas Berry, and Jeffrey Miron

Romina Boccia, "Thoughts About The Impending Government Shutdown," The Debt Dispatch, September 30, 2025.

Jeffrey Miron, "Some Libertarians Cheer When Government Shuts Down: Here's Why They Shouldn't," Vox, January 21, 2018.

Ryan Bourne, "The Libertarian Experiment That Isn't," Cato at Liberty blog, January 11, 2019.

Thomas A. Berry, Brent Skorup, and Charles Brandt, "Learning Resources v. Trump," Cato Amicus Brief, July 30, 2025.

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Will congressional inaction lead to a government shut down? Do shutdowns halt the government in its tracks, and if not, who decides what stays and what goes? What does it mean for President Trump -- or the rest of us?

 

Cato's VP for Government Affairs, Chad Davis, in conversation with Patrick Eddington, senior fellow in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute.

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FCC chair Brendan Carr’s “easy way or hard way” threat to TV broadcasters lit a censorship firestorm this week. Our Cato panel digs into the government's jawboning, broadcast licensees' “junior-varsity” First Amendment rights, and whether it’s time to scrap the FCC altogether. Plus, the latest on AI regulation and the art of the TikTok deal.

Featuring Gene Healy, Ryan Bourne, Brent Skorup and Jennifer Huddleston

Brent Skorup, "Jimmy Kimmel, the FCC, and Why Broadcasters Still Have “Junior Varsity” First Amendment Rights," September 19, 2025.

Ilya Somin, "Abolish the FCC," September 18, 2025.

David Inserra and John Samples, "Kimmel Cancellation a Dangerous Sign for Free Speech," September 24, 202

Jennifer Huddelston, "Trump’s TikTok Reprieve Won’t Fix the Law’s Free Speech Problems," February 3, 2025.

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SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce joins Jennifer Schulp and Cato's Norbert Michel to discuss how government financial surveillance has eroded Americans' constitutional privacy rights through tools like the Consolidated Audit Trail. Peirce advocates for principles-based regulation that protects individual financial privacy while allowing innovation to flourish, arguing that current prescriptive rules create barriers to entry and stifle competition. The conversation explores how new technologies could restore individual sovereignty over personal financial data, enabling Americans to reclaim control over their private information.

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