Cato Podcast - How Government Shutdowns Actually Work

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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What A Day - Dems Throw Down For Health Care

Is the government about to shut down? Congressional leaders and the White House appear to be at an impasse, even after President Donald Trump gave in and scheduled a meeting for Monday to try and get a deal done (though that meeting did not go well). The core of the issue is subsidies connected with the Affordable Care Act, financial assistance that is due to expire at the end of the year. Without it, millions of Americans could see their healthcare premiums skyrocket, with costs rising by hundreds of dollars a month. But the GOP hasn’t been very interested in talking about these funds, despite the fact that millions of Republican voters benefit from them. To understand what the healthcare fight is really about and what happens next, we spoke to Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF and host of the healthcare podcast, “What the Health.

And in headlines, Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer tries to turn down the temperature on rhetoric after a deadly attack at a Latter-Day Saints church, Jared Kushner is a gamer (or at least he’s going to buy a video game company along with Saudi Arabia), and MAGA world reacts to the news that Bad Bunny will play the Super Bowl halftime show.

Show Notes:


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The Indicator from Planet Money - We’re about to lose a lot of foreign STEM workers

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitioners. Today on the show, we talk to an economist about how much H-1B visa holders have contributed to US growth, their effects on American-born workers, and why the United States’ competitors are taking advantage of this moment. 


Related episodes: 

How much international students matter to the economy 

The precarity of the H-1B work visa 

Could foreign workers unlock America's tight labor market? 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Trump’s Revenge Tour Is Here

The president’s case against James Comey doesn’t look very strong to outside legal observers. But even the most spurious accusation against the former head of the FBI would matter when it comes from the sitting president.

Guest: Ankush Khardori, senior writer for POLITICO Magazine and former federal prosecutor in the US Justice Department.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.


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What A Day - How To Survive Online Speech Wars Without Self-Censorship

Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of everyday people have been punished, getting doxxed and even losing their jobs because of statements they made online regarding Kirk and his death. Even the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, encouraged Americans to call the employers of anyone they feel is “celebrating Charlie’s murder.” Free speech matters now, more than ever. But what can we say without fear of retribution? To find out what the rules around speech in America really are, and why this is no time to self-censor, we spoke to Ari Cohn. He’s lead counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, with a focus on tech policy.

And in the news: Oregon sues the Trump administration to stop the deployment of the state’s National Guard to protect federal buildings, current New York City Mayor Eric Adams pulls out of the upcoming mayoral race, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changes his story on what happened with those bunker busters in Iran.

Show Notes:


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The Indicator from Planet Money - What media consolidation means for free speech

Jimmy Kimmel’s brief departure from the airwaves triggered a wave of debate over free speech.  Partly triggering his suspension was the government threatening to leverage its power over pending media deals. That’s in part due to a piece of decades-old legislation. 

Today on the show, we look at how the Telecommunications Act of 1996 set the stage for government meddling and corporate capitulation. 

Related episodes: 
Breaking up big business is hard to do 
Mergers, acquisitions and Elon’s “rude” proposal 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - The Gaza Flotilla That’s Under Attack

With Gaza cut off from food and aid, activists have taken matters into their own hands, and are attempting to circumvent Israel’s blockade themselves via the Mediterranean.

Guest:  Zue Jernstedt, member of About Face: Veterans Against the War and participant on the Veterans Boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Trapped in a Tesla

When you’re getting out of an Uber, Tesla’s unintuitive door handle can embarrass you. In an emergency, getting out of the car quickly can be the difference between life and death.


Guest: Dana Hull, Bloomberg News reporter covering Tesla and Elon Musk 


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More or Less: Behind the Stats - The Case of the Missing US Data

In early February 2025, something strange started happening across US government websites.

Decades of data began disappearing from webpages for agencies such as the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Census Bureau. In many cases the entire website went dark. Within a few days some 8,000 government pages and 3,000 datasets had been taken down. Since then, many have been reinstated - but some have not. We speak to Professors Maggie Levinstein and John Kubale to find out why this data was taken away, and why any of it matters.

If you spot any numbers or statistical claims that you think we should check out contact: moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-Ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge Audio Mix: Neil Churchill